Outstanding Broadcasting

Kelley stood out

By PATRICK LINDNER
Alumni News staff

Fox Sports News anchor Jon Kelley has taken many voyages since departing the University of Nebraska in 1988. This anchor refuses to sink and is floating atop the broadcasting sea.

Kelley received the College of Journalism and Mass Communications’ Outstanding Broadcasting Alumni Award at the Wick Alumni Center on Friday. Kelley has worked his way from local broadcasting in the Midwest to a national television anchor job at Fox Sports News in Los Angeles.

Kelley said one of the accomplishments of which he was most proud was “Sports Sunday,” a sports highlight show he hosted in the early 1990s at WMAQ in Chicago. The program was the city’s highest-rated Sunday night sports show. Kelley also served as a sports anchor and sports director for eight years on the station’s nightly news program.

“There were some really good people in Chicago. I really enjoyed working with them,” he said.

While working in Chicago, Kelley produced a half-hour special highlighting the Bulls’ quest for a fifth NBA championship. He said he traveled with the team and got to know the players.

“That was really cool. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m in the plane with the Chicago Bulls.’ It was a great experience,” he said in his booming anchor voice.

Kelley won the Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award for the highlight show.

But before Kelley moved to Chicago in 1990, he worked as a weekend sports anchor and reporter at KTIV-TV in Sioux City, Iowa. He said he learned much from his peers at KTIV. Later, he worked as a news reporter for KMTV-TV in Omaha and as a sports reporter and weekend sports anchor at WDAF-TV in Kansas City.

“Those are the places where I truly learned about the news and broadcasting,” he said. “It really starts at the local level.”

Kelley now works for Fox Sports News and said he enjoys the challenges of his job. He became a Fox Sports News anchor in 1998 during baseball’s home run race. Kelley said he would never forget the night Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’ record. He was reporting from St. Louis that night and saw the historic event.

“It was amazing. The fans were going nuts, and it was a great night for baseball. I was lucky to be there,” Kelley said.

Kelley said his education at NU was a key to his success in broadcasting. He was a three-year letterman in football and said between football and his studies, he learned to juggle many responsibilities.

Rick Alloway, general manager of KRNU and professor of broadcasting, said Kelley was a student who stood out in the department. He said Kelley, as student athlete and a student in a rigorous field, had had many demands on his time.

“Our department is a pretty demanding place. It’s not easy,” Alloway said. “Kelley had a great work ethic.”

Alloway said the faculty in the broadcasting department knew Kelley would be successful in broadcasting.

“He was an excellent student,” Alloway said. “He always volunteered for opportunities to improve and gain experience. We kind of knew he was destined for greatness.”

Kelley said he could never forget his experiences at Nebraska.

“They sure make you work hard at Nebraska, but it was good preparation,” he said.