J
on Zaghloul , the host of the show Sports Talk Chicago ( which airs locally on WCKG , AM 1530 ), was born and raised in Tinley Park , is a graduate of Andrew High School , and currently attends the University of Chicago . You read that correctly . Currently attends . He ’ s 21 years old . He was born in the 21st century . “ I ’ m entering my fourth year at University of Chicago ,” he explains , “ but I ’ m going to graduate early in March .”
No , he ’ s not studying broadcasting . He ’ s studying economics . Surely after getting such an impressive degree at such a prestigious university , he ’ ll leave the microphone behind . “ Actually , I ’ d like to pursue my broadcasting career ,” he says . “ If I could use my degree to
By Rick Kaempfer
NEW SPORTS RADIO ECONOMY
Last year he took it to the next step . “ At the beginning of the pandemic , it transitioned to radio . WCKG GM Matt Dubiel reached out to me and said , ‘ I saw your stuff on Facebook and liked it . Let ’ s repurpose your show , reinvent it a bit , here ’ s a timeclock , all the radio and FCC stuff ,’ and ever since then , you can hear my stuff on AM 1530 , WCKG . My new timeslot is Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7-8 am . I ’ m all about truth . I ’ ve been given free rein by my program director to talk about whoever or whatever I want , and it ’ s great to have that freedom . In August of last year , I started YouTubing as well , and now all of my content can be seen there as well , and I have 2000 followers already . It ’ s been a great ride .”
Jon Zaghloul
80 minute long free music compilations featuring intriguingly mixed rock and rock-based music . Satisfying musical appetites around the globe since 2005 my advantage , to bring in some of that knowledge to advance my career , that would be great , but the goal right now is definitely to pursue a career in sports media .”
There can ’ t be too many others on campus following a similar path . “ That ’ s true ,” he admits . “ But the university has been very supportive . The student body has been great . Around campus , they say , that ’ s the radio guy , the podcast guy . One of the student groups even gave me money to buy some equipment . They share a lot of my stuff on social media , and they are proud of the work I do . Alot of them are not into sports , but they see the passion I have for this , and they are very supportive and help me promote .”
Jon ’ s passion is not an overnight thing . He has been doing this now for eight years , and his family is very supportive of his path . “ My dad has some radio background in the 90s , but what he really did was get me into sports . We watched Cubs , Bears , and Bulls , and he taught me everything . Then when I was about to turn 13 , I told him I wanted to do a show , and he said , ‘ well , with the internet , it is possible , but you have to be dedicated , and you have to be consistent .’ So , in August of 2013 , Sports Talk Chicago was born . At first , it was just a blog , but it got 500 viewers in the first month , so my dad said , let ’ s make this a real website . We bought the domain name , got the copyright , and for the first year , I wrote articles while I learned how to podcast . When I was 14 , I started the podcast . Those first podcasts are still on the website today , and I ’ ve since done almost 400 more . My first guest ever was Len Kasper , who was the Cub ' s play-by-play man at the time . He was very gracious with his time , and now he comes on every year .”
What kind of content can listeners expect when they tune in to Sports Talk Chicago ? “ My top two sports are always baseball and football . I played baseball and had a college offer that I didn ’ t take because I chose the University of Chicago , but I grew up on baseball – especially the Cubs . The Bears and the Bulls came in later . As far as my favorite guests , I have three . Jose Canseco , Warren Sapp , and Mike North . All three are hilarious . All three have great insights . All three are very entertaining and gracious with their time .”
And because he pre-tapes the show , he doesn ’ t currently have the capability of taking listener calls . That means he is a one-man show , putting it all out there without a safety net . “ But with social media ,” he points out , “ I don ’ t lack for interaction . The era of the radio phone call may be coming to an end anyway . I saw a prominent radio personality in Philadelphia tweet that the other day . Twitter may be taking its place . I like the idea that it ’ s all on you as a host . You have to entertain . You can ’ t count on callers filling time . You have to be good enough on your own .”
And he ’ s really serious about pursuing this , even with a University of Chicago economics degree ? “ Right now , I ’ m open to everything . You have to be . But media is what I want to do . I have an LLC already , and I ’ m looking for sponsors and ad partners . No matter what I do , I see keeping STC ( Sports Talk Chicago ) media going , regardless of where I end up after graduation .”
Odds are , wherever that is , we will be hearing more from him in the coming years . Right now , Jon Zaghloul can be heard on weekend mornings , on WCKG Radio , 1530 AM .
16 illinoisentertainer . com august 2021