By: Jim Williams
The Examiner
Yesterday in this column I told you that Tony Kornheiser would return to radio on either WTEM or WTWP and that he would do so in February.
Well yesterday the winner of the “Mr. Tony Sweepstakes,” was WTWP-AM and FM and starting February 20th he will be back on the air on a station that will give him an audience that reaches from Pennsylvania to Virginia.
His return to radio was met with joy from Washington all the way up to Baltimore where fans called and emailed about Kornheiser’s return and how excited they were that he could be heard up the road in Charm City.
“The Tony Kornheiser Show” will air on 1500AM – 107.7FM live weekday mornings from 8:30 – 10:30, and will be rebroadcast daily from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (with the exception of the Politics Program airing Fridays at noon).
Few people can pull of the kind of show that Kornheiser does. His mix of sports, pop culture, politics and humor has made him not just a local but a national star and it is on the radio that he excels as a communicator.
If there is breaking news I can even see Kornheiser working along with other anchors and reporters to get to the bottom of the story. He proved on Monday Night Football that he still has his reporting skills.
On WTWP he will no doubt have access to an “A guest list.” He will draw from sports, politics and the news of the day. In short Tony will do the kind of show that he has always done.
Jim Farley, WTOP's vice president of news and programming told me “It’s a great fit. He'll be on two big signals, on a radio station with both news and sports resources have a much shorter commute and we'll buy bagels everyday. What's not to like?”
Kornheiser is one of ESPN’s most popular on-air personalities as co-host of Pardon the Interruption (PTI). He just finished his first season as an analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Tony Kornheiser joined ESPN Radio in November 1997 as host of The Tony Kornheiser Show, which premiered in January of 1998. Previously, stated earlier his show aired on WTEM-AM here in D.C. He has also appeared frequently on ESPN’s Sunday-morning roundtable program, The Sports Reporters.
“I’m thrilled to be back on the radio at WTWP AM and FM. I look forward to doing the show I have always done. It will be entertainment and sports based and be about the events of my life that day.” says Kornheiser.
Mr. Tony will have at least one co host and maybe more. According to Bonneville executives they just got the deal done and they will reach out to people that Tony is comfortable with to work with him on his show.
One person that won’t be the co-host will be his long time radio partner WTEM Sports Director Andy Pollin. But I am sure that WTWP will find an ensemble cast that will fit both Tony’s personality as well as his comfort level.
The biggest reason that Kornheiser is at WTWP is his loyalty to his long time employer the Washington Post and yesterday he said it best himself “I’ve worked at The Washington Post for 30 years and the opportunity to join them in their new radio venture with Bonneville is a natural fit,” stated Kornheiser.
So as a long time fan of Kornheiser I wish him well at WTWP and I am sure his audience throughout the mid Atlantic is marking their calendars for February 20th.
Here is the new line up coming on WTWP - David Burd and Jessica Doyle mornings from 5:30 – 8:30, The Tony Kornheiser Show from 8:30am -12:30pm, Sam Litzinger from 12:30 – 3 pm, and Bob Kur and Hillary Howard from 3 – 7 pm.
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