Episode 12: Episode 12: Don Weber

Don Weber is a legendary figure in Northern Kentucky for his coverage of all the local sports teams. He worked for the local cable company which provided programing in a three county radius which expanded to six counties by the late-1990s and early-2000s. This included two colleges, Northern Kentucky University and Thomas More University, and at its peak 22 high schools.
Don covered high school sports in Northern Kentucky for 25 years making him synonymous with every school in the area. Not many people know where he attended high school in the area but the answer is Campbell County. He graduated in 1976 and we talk about some of the coaches for the Camels while he attended the school.
He attended Northern Kentucky University starting in 1976 which was the very early days for the Highland Heights campus. One of his professors in the radio and television department was Dick Murgatroyd. “Murg” was a legendary figure himself working with Ruth Lyons and being the executive producer of the Bob Braun Show.
While at NKU, Don developed a further love of sports by working on shows and events covering the sports teams. He was mentored by Mote Hills as well as developing friendships with Bill Aker, Jane Meier and Nancy Winstel.
Upon graduation in 1980, Don gets his start as an intern in the sports department and later as an employee at WLWT-Channel 5. He worked under Bill Brown who was a sports anchor for the station and the television play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Reds.
In January of 1983, Don is hired by Storer Cable and worked his way up the ladder. Eventually Don becomes the sports director and in 1987 he produces a season preview for the high school football season and that was the beginning of it all.
This morphed into a weekly sports highlights show, a Friday night scoreboard show, coaches shows, call-in shows as well as covering the local college teams within the viewing area.
In today’s media world of covering news and sports the job listing is commonly referred to as multimedia journalist. This is a newer trend but Don perfected this skill starting in the 1980s and it was referred to in the industry at the time as the “one-man band.”
Don came up with a call-in show called The Press Box along with Tom Gamble from the Kentucky Post and Chris Gramke the sports editor of the Recorder newspapers in Northern Kentucky. The most memorable topic was an episode that happened on the day that the NKU Board of Regents voted on establishing a football program.
This branches off into a conversation about Thomas More University starting its football program in the early 1990s. Don had inside knowledge of the circumstances and tells some stories of the early growing pains and how its turned into a small college football power.
We also talk about two of the great high school basketball tournaments in the area’s history. The Famous Recipe Holiday Classic and the All-A Classic both were high profile local tournaments. The All-A evolved into a statewide tournament and now involves virtually every sport available to small schools in Kentucky.
In addition to all the game coverage and preview shows, Don covered the awards banquets and eventually the cable company hosted its own awards show in the studio to recognize all of the players-of-the-week.
We talk about the trust that Don earned as a reporter with the local coaches and administrators while still being a hard hitting journalist. Don was known for being very fair with his coverage and knowing that when dealing with high school athletes there were some subjects that are off limits because of the simple fact that they are underage.
We start to wrap up with the corporate takeover that resulted in the new parent company deciding to change the format of the station in 2010. Don looks back on how it all come to and end and his longtime coworkers that would all have to go in their separate ways.
You can follow Brady Laber on Twitter @BradyLaber1 (https://twitter.com/BradyLaber1) please use the hashtag #NobodysSafe
Check out the Nobody’s Safe website at nobodysssafe.fireside.fm (https://nobodysssafe.fireside.fm)
For more information on Stove Leg Media go the website StoveLeg.com (https://www.stoveleg.com) or send an email to [email protected]
Intro music for the podcast was provided by bensoud.com (https://www.bensound.com)

Don Weber is a legendary figure in Northern Kentucky for his coverage of all the local sports teams. He worked for the local cable company which provided programing in a three county radius which expanded to six counties by the late-1990s and early-2000s. This included two colleges, Northern Kentucky University and Thomas More University, and at its peak 22 high schools.

Don covered high school sports in Northern Kentucky for 25 years making him synonymous with every school in the area. Not many people know where he attended high school in the area but the answer is Campbell County. He graduated in 1976 and we talk about some of the coaches for the Camels while he attended the school.

He attended Northern Kentucky University starting in 1976 which was the very early days for the Highland Heights campus. One of his professors in the radio and television department was Dick Murgatroyd. “Murg” was a legendary figure himself working with Ruth Lyons and being the executive producer of the Bob Braun Show.

While at NKU, Don developed a further love of sports by working on shows and events covering the sports teams. He was mentored by Mote Hills as well as developing friendships with Bill Aker, Jane Meier and Nancy Winstel.

Upon graduation in 1980, Don gets his start as an intern in the sports department and later as an employee at WLWT-Channel 5. He worked under Bill Brown who was a sports anchor for the station and the television play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Reds.

In January of 1983, Don is hired by Storer Cable and worked his way up the ladder. Eventually Don becomes the sports director and in 1987 he produces a season preview for the high school football season and that was the beginning of it all.

This morphed into a weekly sports highlights show, a Friday night scoreboard show, coaches shows, call-in shows as well as covering the local college teams within the viewing area.

In today’s media world of covering news and sports the job listing is commonly referred to as multimedia journalist. This is a newer trend but Don perfected this skill starting in the 1980s and it was referred to in the industry at the time as the “one-man band.”

Don came up with a call-in show called The Press Box along with Tom Gamble from the Kentucky Post and Chris Gramke the sports editor of the Recorder newspapers in Northern Kentucky. The most memorable topic was an episode that happened on the day that the NKU Board of Regents voted on establishing a football program.

This branches off into a conversation about Thomas More University starting its football program in the early 1990s. Don had inside knowledge of the circumstances and tells some stories of the early growing pains and how its turned into a small college football power.

We also talk about two of the great high school basketball tournaments in the area’s history. The Famous Recipe Holiday Classic and the All-A Classic both were high profile local tournaments. The All-A evolved into a statewide tournament and now involves virtually every sport available to small schools in Kentucky.

In addition to all the game coverage and preview shows, Don covered the awards banquets and eventually the cable company hosted its own awards show in the studio to recognize all of the players-of-the-week.

We talk about the trust that Don earned as a reporter with the local coaches and administrators while still being a hard hitting journalist. Don was known for being very fair with his coverage and knowing that when dealing with high school athletes there were some subjects that are off limits because of the simple fact that they are underage.

We start to wrap up with the corporate takeover that resulted in the new parent company deciding to change the format of the station in 2010. Don looks back on how it all come to and end and his longtime coworkers that would all have to go in their separate ways.

You can follow Brady Laber on Twitter @BradyLaber1 please use the hashtag #NobodysSafe

Check out the Nobody’s Safe website at nobodysssafe.fireside.fm

For more information on Stove Leg Media go the website StoveLeg.com or send an email to [email protected]

Intro music for the podcast was provided by bensoud.com