Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Amber Theoharis set to be Baltimore’s next big star

Jim Williams, The Examiner
Oct 25, 2006 5:00 AM (3 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 2 of 5,784 articles

BALTIMORE - Mark down the name Amber Theoharis. She is going to be a star in the national sports broadcasting business. She will also be the first to send me an e-mail for saying it because she is not one to call attention to herself, rather preferring her work to speak for itself.


Theoharis is a solid journalist with a magnetic personality and a gift for being able to ask the right question at the right time. She has been rewarded for her hard work by being the first woman sportscaster in Baltimore to earn an Emmy Award.

For those not aware of her, Theoharis is currently part of Baltimore’s FOX 45 sports team, along with sports director Bruce Cunningham, and is also a fixture on several high-profile shows on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Along with former Ravens star Rob Burnett, she hosts the new “Ravens Xtra” postgame show, which can be seen after all Ravens home games. You can also see her every Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. on “MASN Playmakers Live,” an entertaining interactive call-in show.

A local girl from the Frederick area, Theoharis is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland, and after leaving her alma mater, she worked hard to refine her craft in Salisbury, Columbus, New York and Washington before coming home to be part of the FOX 45 team.

I recently spoke to Theoharis about her passion for sports.

“I really love my job, and I hope that comes across to the fans,” she said. “Doing ‘Ravens Xtra’ gives me a chance to ask the players, coaches and experts all the questions that I feel the fans would ask if they were in my shoes. I see myself as the liaison between the fans and the people I interview. Being part of this new show is a real pleasure for me, and working with Rob Burnett is super. I know the fans wanted a postgame show, and we are all committed to giving them the best one possible.”

Theoharis on her career: “I love working with Bruce at FOX 45, and with 10 minutes of sports on the 10 p.m. show Monday through Friday, we can really do things that other stations in the market can’t. We have the time to really get into a story and not just grab a few sound bites. It has given me, as a sports journalist, a chance to challenge myself to do the best job possible for FOX 45 News and the viewers. As for the ‘MASN Playmakers Live,’ it is fun, and to interact with the callers really makes me think on my feet. Steve Stofberg and the rest of the gang on ‘Playmakers’ are great to work with all true professionals.”

Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. E-mail him at jwilliamsexaminer@gmail.com.

Examiner

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