By Rick Kaempfer
JOSH ON SPORTS
W
BBM-News Radio’s Josh Liss
grew up in Skokie, and there
was one voice that had a real
impact on his career direction, though it
didn’t manifest itself for a few years.
“Harry Caray was the big reason I
wanted to do sports broadcasting,” he
says. “I didn’t have a dad to take me to
games, but my mom and grandmother
always had the game on when I came
home from school or camp. And there
was something about Harry’s voice, and
the excitement he brought to the game.
Of course, I wanted to be an athlete first,
and played multiple sports growing up
through high school. I even tried to play
baseball at Oakton Community College,
but when I found out I wasn’t good
enough to do it anymore, I had to find
something else to do. “
That love of sports
led him to the next best
thing. “I called the Score
when they first went on
the air in 1992,” Liss
remembers, “but they
told me I needed to be
taking classes to intern
there, so I contacted
Steve Leventhal of
WVVX-FM (103.1) in
Highland Park, and
they were doing syndicated stuff at night.
Leventhal said ‘You
know what? I think we
could use someone to
help us stuff envelopes
and things like that.’ They sent me to (late
sportscaster) Bob Greenberg’s house to
help him produce his show, but I didn’t
realize he was blind until I extended my
hand for a handshake, and he reached his
hand out but didn’t meet mine. It would
have been nice if they had told me. But
before I knew it, I was out covering Bulls
and Blackhawks games at the Stadium
with a tape recorder as a would-be
reporter. It was a great experience.”
Liss has come a long way since those
days. He is the sports director and morning sports anchor on WBBM News Radio.
Most of his time is now confined to the
anchor chair in the WBBM studios, but he
does still get out occasionally, including
one time recently that may never be beat.
He went to Cleveland to cover Game 6
and 7 of the World Series. “I still have not
come down from that high,” he admits,
“and I hope I don’t. It was tough riding
the fine line between supporting and
reporting, being objective and all, but I
think I did a good job. After going
through that – the whole month of playoffs, going to Cleveland for Games 6 & 7,
and the parade coverage, that buzz is still
there – and I hope it lasts until spring
training because it makes the rest of the
Chicago sports scene more palatable.”
Though the Bears may be sliding
toward mediocrity, and the Bulls may
have a difficult time reclaiming their former glory, they can never take away this
once in a lifetime experience from him.
“That World Series is without question
the greatest sports story I’ve ever covered
and I don’t even sense one on the radar
20 illinoisentertainer.com december 2016
that can possibly top it. The generations
of fans that stuck with this team—and
some of them who didn’t make it to see
the championship. To pop that cork with
so many people hanging on it for so many
years and carrying the emotional investment – to see it pay off. I don’t think it
will ever be topped in my career.”
That’s saying something, because Liss’
career has been a series of highs. He’s
won awards from the Associated Press
and the Illinois Broadcasters Association,
and even won a prestigious Peter Lisagor
Award for his sports reports. Though Liss
doesn’t do a sports talk show, and he
doesn’t do sports play by play, he is the
best at what he does. And he does it for
the largest radio audience in Chicago
every morning. “Just when I think I real-
Josh Liss
ly wish I could spend more time on a subject, or would like go to the phones to further discuss a topic, I’m reminded that
our ratings are so strong—that this team
I’m on right now has a real healthy audience, and I’m very happy to be a part of
it. I’m perfectly happy being with this
audience, whether it’s four or five minutes an hour, or four or five minutes at a
time.”
He’s also surrounded by a highly
regarded team of professionals. “Felicia
(Middlebrooks) and Pat (Cassidy) are two
news professionals who I count on every
day when we’re on the air, and at the end
of the day, they balance it with humility.
We have fun on and off the air together.
And Bart Shore is a grinder. He has
owned morning drive traffic for so long.
His work ethic is so strong.”
So is Josh’s. If you haven’t heard him
on the radio, check him out on social
media where he provides the multimedia experience every morning on
Facebook and Twitter. “You need to be in
all formats. It’s beyond keeping up with
others—it’s part of the job. There are people who listen to me or watch me on
Facebook that don’t even listen to me on
the radio. It’s a chance to expand our
audience, and expand our horizons, and
reach new people wherever we can. And
Twitter has nearly replaced news wire
services for prompt up to the minute
news. Once you can curate your news
choices, it can operate like a scrolling
news feed.” If you’d like to add Josh to
yours, he’s at JoshLiss@JoshLissSports.