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10 Questions with ... Joe McDonnell
April 24, 2007
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NAME:Joe McDonnellTITLE:Talk Show HostMARKET:Los Angeles- Orange CountyCOMPANY:Clear ChannelBORN:Upper Darby, PARAISED:Granada Hills, CA
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Began my radio career on September 18, 1975--the day Patty Hearst was arrested! I started than morning as an intern at KGIL on the 5 am to 10 am shift. I hung around after I was done, and the bulletin came down announcing Hearst's capture. I volunteered to stay and help out, and was there until 10 pm, answering phones, cutting wire copy, doing whatever. I fell in love for the first time that day... with radio. About six months later, I starting working in the sports department and became part of the morning show, hosted by the true legend, Sweet Dick Whittington. In 1982 I became the area correspondent for Mutual Radio Sports, and later joined up with AP Radio and UPI Radio. I stayed in the field until June of 1988, when Chris Roberts hired me to produce / report for his new sports talk show on KFI. In December of '88 I filled in for Chris, and then-GM Ken Kohl liked it and named me the permanent replacement host. And so began a talk show career that has seen me work at 14 stations--some of them two or three times--along with a two-year stop at KFWB News, where I won two Golden Mic Awards. I've been named Sports Talk Host of the Year six times by the Los Angeles Daily News, and Sports Talk Host of the Decade (1990's) by the Daily News. Currently, I host the Joe McDonnell Experience M-F 7-11 pm on AM 570 KLAC Sports, and a Sunday afternoon general interest show from 2-4 pm on KTLK AM 1150.
1. What got you into radio in the first place- why radio?
To get college credits without having to take an extra class. I originally wanted to be a newspaper writer/reporter, and I had never thought of getting into radio because I had one of the world's truly bad voices -- nasal and scratchy. Never considered myself as a potential broadcaster. But after that first day with the Hearst Experience, it was radio for me! Somehow, I was going to do it... even if it meant working in a newsroom and writing news and sports copy for a career.
2. About what are you most passionate these days?
Using my little corner of the broadcast world to get the audience to think... especially on my general show. It's too easy for a host to say "hey, I'll go out there for four hours and put on a show and go home," but I think there's also a some room to have the audience participate in an intellectual way. Have them really think about what's going on in the world. Not advocacy radio, just giving them a different point of view, something they may not have thought about. Being on 1150 Progressive Talk, most expect you to be a cookie-cutter liberal. I'm not. After the Virginia Tech tragedy, I did a show advocating the ability of American adults to be allowed to carry weapons if they pass certain tests set up by the government. Well, the majority of the audience went insane... but it's something I really believe in, and I'm sure after their outrage, some of them actually gave it some thought. On the sports side, just letting the audience into a part of that world that I have access to that most hosts don't. The inside they don't usually get to see....
3. You break stories on a fairly regular basis. How did you develop your network of contacts, and what would you consider your biggest scoop thus far?
Mainly from being around the same market and the same teams for 31 years. And the fact that the athletes and management trust me -- well, most of them, anyway! I've found that if one or two players decide you're trustworthy, they tell other players and that's how the network gets started.
The biggest story I've broken is Magic Johnson's 1994 return to coach the Lakers, along with Wayne Gretzky's trade to the Kings in 1988. I'd call it a tie between those two.
4. You're doing political/general interest talk on KTLK and sports on KLAC- why did you branch (back) out to non-sports talk? What motivated you to try a non-sports show again? (And as a side issue, you've dropped the nickname "The Big Nasty"- are you no longer nasty?)
It's something that has always been a passion of mine, and I've told many people that my ideal job would be to do sports five days a week and general talk on the weekend. Don Martin, John Quinlan and Bill Lally made it happen. I also like the fact that the audience can see that I'm not just a one-dimensional host.
The Big Nasty was just a nickname, an on-the-air character. It was never who I was. When I hooked up with KLAC and KTLK, Don Martin and I had a LONG discussion about my career and where it was headed, and how the best hosts let their real personality shine through on the show. So... "The Big Nasty" served its purpose, and now he's retired into radio lore.
5. L.A. is notorious to people who aren't from here (and some who are) as a "lousy sports town." Is it? What makes L.A. different from other major markets for sports, and is the perception that it's all Lakers and USC and nothing else correct?
I don't think L.A. is a lousy sports town at all. We're a town that makes our teams earn our support. We're not lemmings like Chicago fans or Boston fans who will sell out Wrigley or Fenway even if their teams are awful. Fans here have too many other options to spend their money -- and time -- supporting a loser. And in LA if a team wins, it will get supported... not just the Lakers.
6. What's the single most memorable moment you've had as a sports fan?
The Lakers winning their first NBA title in Los Angeles in 1972.
7. Who's the best sportscaster you've ever heard and why?
Chick Hearn, without a doubt. He made you feel like a part of the broadcast, like he was doing the game just for you. And his passion for the Lakers and NBA basketball was incredible.
8. What do you do for fun? (And, having just gotten married, do you expect anything in your leisure life to change?)
Go to the movies and travel. And although my wife isn't a HUGE movie goer, she does like to travel, so nothing will change in that area. For our honeymoon, we took a road trip!
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _____________.
...Diet Pepsi.
10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?
The best advice came from Davey Lopes, the former Dodgers second baseman, who said never to listen to anyone who tells you you're not good enough to make it. "Most people will give up on you. They key is to not give up on yourself." And I never have.
I can't really say anything about the worst advice... because I never paid attention to it!
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