AP Broadcast

AP Radio Editorial Staff Profiles

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NEWS ANCHORS:

Jon Belmont
AP Radio News Anchor

Jon Belmont is the morning-drive anchor for AP Radio News.

Jon is one of those radio junkies who grew up sleeping with a radio tucked under his pillow. His passion translated into his first radio job at age 14. His career has taken him to news and management positions in Columbus, Detroit, Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Milwaukee and now Washington, DC.

In 19 years with ABC News Radio, Belmont held down the anchor chair for live coverage of such major stories as the 2000 presidential election, the Clinton impeachment trial, the JFK Jr. plane crash and the attacks on Iraq and Yugoslavia. He also reported from the scenes of dozens of major stories including the Elian Gonzalez vigil, TWA 800 disaster, OJ Simpson trial, Florida wildfires, Northridge earthquake and the Midwest's Great Flood of '93.

Jon left ABC to host the morning show at a heritage station, WTMJ, Milwaukee, where he shared in his second Murrow Award after earlier being honored by the National Headliner Awards, the International Radio Festival of New York and The Ohio State University. But he found he missed covering world and national news and was proud to join AP in mid-2004.

Ross Simpson

Anchor

As the morning anchor for AP's Radio News, Ross is responsible for bringing listeners the very latest news from here and abroad; news that could very well impact their lives. In 2003, Ross spent 40 days reporting from Kuwait and Iraq while embedded with the US Marines.

Ross brings more than 40 years of experience to the microphone. Before joining AP Radio in 1998, Ross spent 20 years with the Mutual Broadcasting System and the NBC Radio Network. Ross was their "go guy" who covered every major news story from 1978 to 1998, including conflicts in Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia and Haiti. During his career, Ross has won almost every major journalism award, including two prestigious Sigma Delta Chi and three Edward R. Murrow awards.

In addition to being a broadcaster, Ross is also a published author; having written four books, including "Stealth Down," his latest book about the loss of the first Stealth fighter and the recovery of its pilot during Operation Allied Force in Yugoslavia.

Rita Foley
Anchor

Rita is an award-winning journalist and talk show host, who wakes up the nation with morning information on AP Radio News. She co-anchored the AP's award-winning coverage of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, winning the presitigious Edward R. Murrow Award, the first ever such honor for AP Broadcast.

Prior to joining AP, Rita hosted a cutting edge radio talk show on WMAL, the ABC-owned station in Washington, DC. Mixing live interviews with listeners' telephone calls, she investigated hard-news oriented issues and tripled the rating for that time period. She earned the American Association of University Women's Broadcast Excellence award, and the Carlton Sherwood Media Award, among others, for her work on the Rita Foley show.

Her work as a radio news director was cited by a consultant as producing, consistently, the finest department at the radio station.

As a reporter and anchor for the NBC-owned radio station in Washington, DC, she reported the events surrounding the assassination attempt on President Reagan, and covered the arraignment of assailant John Hinckley, Jr. Her continuing reports from the White House on negotiations to free the American hostages in Iran brought the station an Achievement Award.

During that time, Foley began covering trials on a regular basis.

Foley has been a guest on ABC-TV's Good Morning America, and on the NBC-owned WRC-TV in Washington, DC. She has appeared on WJLA-TV in Washington, DC as well as various other broadcast stations across the country.

Tim Maguire
Anchor

Tim is an anchor for AP Radio News. He is a 6-year AP veteran with 24 years of radio news experience. Tim anchors the evening newscasts. He also hosts and produces AP's weekly news magazine and feature "Portfolio," which focuses on lifestyle issues, entertainment and books.

His career includes launching and overseeing an award winning news department at WQIK radio in Jacksonville, Florida where he also taught broadcast writing and reporting as an adjunct professor at Jacksonville University.

Tim was also a morning drive anchor for seven years at WZZK radio in Birmingham, Alabama. Maguire began his career at WMSL radio, in Decatur, Alabama in 1978.

Ed Donahue
Anchor
Ed Donahue anchors hourly newscasts for AP Radio News.

He joined AP in 2000 and is an 18-year veteran of radio, having covered a variety of news stories includiung the Worcester fire of 1999, the Ryder Cup, and the New Hampshire presidential primary. He was part of the team that won the Edward R. Murrow award for coverage of the JFK Jr. plane crash.

Prior to AP, Ed was news director at WKOX radio in Framingham, MA and morning news anchor at WHJJ in Providence. For 9 years, he was a reporter, anchor, writer and editor at WBZ in Boston and was part of the team that switched the station over to all news.

Sandy Kozel

AP Radio News Anchor

Sandy Kozel has been anchoring newscasts for the AP Radio network since 1986. She is a past-producer of the public affairs shows "Special Assignment" and "Portfolio" and the daily "Travel Update" feature.

Before joining the AP, Sandy was morning anchor and assistant news director at WGR radio in Buffalo, where she also did general assignment and entertainment reporting for WGRZ-TV. Before that, she anchored and reported at WEOL in Elyria, Ohio, and had her own talk show at WELW in Willoughby, Ohio. Sandy has a journalism degree from Ohio University and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Camille Bohannon
AP Radio News Anchor

Bohannon, a veteran of more than 30 years in broadcasting, has anchored full-time on NBC, MUTUAL, UPI and now at AP Radio, where she has been for over a decade. She also reported for CBS Radio during the 1970's.

Her local radio credits include co-anchoring morning-drive at WTOP, Washington; WRC, Washington; and WCFL, Chicago. At UPI, Bohannon provided wall-to-wall coverage of the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. She was one of MUTUAL's wall-to-wall anchors during the Persian Gulf War.

Newsmaker interviews have included Ted Kennedy, Barbara Mikulski, Jesse Jackson, Leonard Bernstein, Johnny Mathis, Chris Evert, Sonny Jurgenson, and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Bohannon has lectured on broadcast news at The George Washington University and the University of Maryland and has working knowledge of five languages.

SPORTS ANCHORS:

John Anthony

Country Music Reporter

An eight year veteran of AP Broadcast, Anthony has covered many of the major sports events including the Olympics, the Final Four, NBA Finals, and the Masters.

John has more than 22 years of broadcast experience. Before AP, he anchored sports on WCPX-TV in Orlando. He also handled all the radio and television play-by-play at the University of Central Florida. He has worked for CNN Radio and CNN Headline News.

Anthony has a BS in Broadcasting from the University of Florida.

Jack Briggs
Assistant Sports Director

A 23-year veteran of AP Radio, Jack has covered almost every major world-wide sporting event for AP and serves as the on-air anchor for 50 sportscasts a week. He has been to every Olympics since 1980 and is one of two primary anchors for all Olympic programming.

Before joining AP, Jack was a sportscaster in several major cities around the country. He was the play-by-play voice of the ABA's Utah Stars and for several years called college basketball games. Jack has a degree in communications and is from Cleveland, Ohio. A true basketball fan at heart, Jack even sports the bald, aerodynamic look.

Mike Gracia
AP Radio Network Sports Anchor and Reporter

Mike anchors evening sportscasts for AP Radio News. In his 20 years at AP, he has covered nearly every major sporting event, including ten Olympic Games, Goodwill Games, Pan American Games, Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, the four major golf championships, Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and major title fights involving the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.

Mike also has the ability to cover non-sporting events, including breaking stories at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, the White House and the 1989 earthquake in Northern California.

Prior to joining AP, Mike was a news and sports anchor at WKCW in Warrenton, Virginia and at KANA radio in Anaconda, Montana.

Dave Lubeski
Sports Director

A 30-year AP veteran, Dave directs all radio sports coverage on the network and the AP Broadcast Wire, overseeing the programming of 270 live network sportscasts weekly. He has been a fixture at every major sporting event throughout his career and has covered 15 Olympics.

Dave's tenure at AP is older than AP Radio itself: he joined the company in September of 1974 to help start AP Radio, and he had it on the air just one month later. Beginning as the evening drive sportscaster and late night news producer, Dave was later named as the sports director in 1980.

Before he began his long career at AP, Dave was a sports editor, sportscaster, and talk show host at KTRH in Houston and disc jockey and newscaster at KOGT in Orange, Texas.

BUSINESS ANCHORS:

Mark Hamrick
Business Editor

As AP Broadcast's business editor, Mark oversees business coverage for the radio networks and the broadcast wire. Mark is a seasoned journalist, beginning his radio career while in high school in his hometown Coffeyville, Kansas and later moving up the ranks to Lawrence, Kansas, and then Buffalo, New York. He joined AP in 1986. During the Persian Gulf War, his AP Network News newscasts were heard by U.S. troops via Armed Forces Radio and featured on ABC TV's World News Tonight.

More recently, he's directed broadcast's coverage of the dot.com boom and bust, the financial markets' reaction to 9/11, and the variety of stories involving corporate malfeasance. He regularly interviews market analysts, top economists, C-E-O's and government officials. He also writes, produces and hosts Tax Break, one of the most popular features done for AP Network News, All News Radio and the broadcast wire. Mark is a respected member of the journalist community and was recently elected by his colleagues to serve on the Board of Governors for the National Press Club, one of the world's foremost news forums. Mark's connection with the AP is in his blood as his father worked for the local AP bureau in Charleston, West Virginia. Mark currently lives in Potomac, Maryland, and attended the University of Kansas.

REPORTERS:

Brian Bland
Western Regional Correspondent

Brian Bland, a 20-year veteran of the Associated Press, has been AP Radio's Western Regional correspondent since 1982.

Based in Los Angeles, Bland has covered stories ranging from O.J. Simpson to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, along with the Freemen siege in Montana, numerous political campaigns and conventions and assorted fires, floods, earthquakes and plane crashes. He and three AP Radio colleagues won an AP Broadcasters Board of Directors Award for their coverage of the Persian Gulf War.

The Memphis, Tennessee, native has a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Illinois. A former Army officer, Bland headed a combat photo detachment in Vietnam. He worked in radio and TV in California and Nevada before joining The AP in 1979.

Gerald Bodlander
Capitol Hill Reporter
Gerry has served in various capacities for AP Radio for over 20 years, including as a general assignment reporter and as supervisor, and is currently the Capitol Hill correspondent. Gerry has covered many of the most important worldwide events of the past two decades for AP Radio. He reported on the release of American hostages in Iran and Lebanon and numerous Olympics, political conventions, and plane crashes.

Gerry was among some of the first journalists to enter Kuwait after its liberation in the Gulf War and was part of a team of AP Radio reporters who won an AP award for their coverage.

Before coming to AP Radio, Gerry worked at station WGNY in Newburgh, New York. He has a B.A. from Syracuse University in TV-radio news and political science and an M.A. from American University in journalism and public affairs.

Melissa Gray
London-based Correspondent

Since joining the network in 2005, Gray has covered stories across Europe and the Middle East, including the trial of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, the funeral of Pope John Paul II and selection of Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, and the 2005 London bombings. Gray also went to Gaza City to cover the Israeli offensive in 2006; to Haifa, Israel for the Israel-Lebanon conflict; and to Gaza and the West Bank for the Israeli settler withdrawal.

Before this, Gray was a freelance correspondent for the network, and covered the funeral of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah. She also worked in London with APTN, CNN, and the Olympics Web site Around the Rings.

Gray started her career as an anchor and editor at CNN Radio in Atlanta. She also spent three years as a reporter and writer for the network's internal wire service.

Mark Smith
White House Correspondent

A 27-year AP veteran, Mark is an award-winning broadcast journalist, who has covered the White House beat for AP Broadcast since 1996. Mark is part of the exclusive press corps that travels around the world with the president and also serves as the incoming president of the White House Correspondents Association.

Over the years, he has covered presidents Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan and Carter and presidential elections since 1980. Among Mark's many assignments are: the Sept. 11 Crisis; the impeachment/trial of president Clinton; the Oklahoma City Bombing; Papal visits; the Olympic Games; G-7/8 Summits, the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Dianna; the release of Nelson Mandela; Space Shuttle launches; the Gulf War; the fall of the Berlin Wall; the Iran Hostage Crisis; and Three Mile Island.

Mark has won several journalism awards, including the Forum Award for his coverage of Three Mile Island; the National Press Club Consumer Journalism Award; a Gold Medal from the International Radio Festival for his coverage of the Berlin Wall; and several AP awards including the prestigious Gramling Award.

Prior to joining AP, Mark worked as a reporter for CNN in New York; an anchor for WCIC-TV in Ithaca, NY; and as a reporter for WTKO Radio in Ithaca. Mark has degrees in Science and Communication Arts from Cornell University.

Sagar Meghani
National Security Correspondent
With primary coverage of the Pentagon and defense issues for the Online Video Network and AP Radio, Sagar also reports from the White House, Capitol Hill and elsewhere in Washington. He has covered high-profile domestic stories, including the Virginia Tech and Lancaster school shootings, hurricanes, a space shuttle launch, the 2006 election and Super Bowl XL. Sagar has also traveled internationally for the AP, covering the Israel/Hezbollah war in Jerusalem, the possible return of Fidel Castro at a parade in Havana and the Summer Olympics in Athens.

While at AP he has also served as a supervisor, wire editor and writer at the Broadcast News Center in Washington. Before joining AP, Sagar was a sports anchor/reporter at WMAQ-AM in Chicago and a news/sports anchor at WAJR-AM in Morgantown, West Virginia. He holds a degree from Syracuse University's prestigious Newhouse School of Public Communications.

David Melendy
Planning Editor, Writer, Producer

David is a seasoned veteran with versatility who serves in several capacities for the AP Radio Network. A 20-year AP Radio veteran, David is the producer for the Network's "Flashback" feature, business anchor and planning editor, too. He has been a news anchor for 12 years.

David's many assignments have included reporting from the White House, Capitol Hill and the Kennedy Space Center. He's also worked as a desk supervisor and produced multi-part special reports on such subjects as the "Star Wars" missile defense and the Vietnam War.

He began his career in Connecticut, working for ten years as a reporter/anchor and news director at radio stations in Connecticut and New York, including WCBS-FM in New York.

Tony Winton

AP Broadcast, Southeast Regional Correspondent

A 15-year AP veteran, Winton is a multimedia journalist, covering events for AP Radio News, the AP Broadcast news wires, AP's web-related services and periodically for APTN.

Based in Miami, Winton has covered news events locally and around the world. Earlier this year, Winton transmitted the first video of "Camp X-Ray" at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Other assignments have included the Gulf War, coverage of U.S. forces in Haiti and Somalia, the Oklahoma City bombing and the succeeding trials, the Noriega trial, space shuttle launches and numerous hurricanes and tornadoes.

Winton also covered the Bush and Gore campaigns, and the ensuing Florida recount. He was in Washington on September 11th, where he was among the first reporters into the Pentagon. He then traveled to New York for coverage at Ground Zero.

In 2000, he was awarded AP's Gramling award for coverage of the Elian Gonzalez saga, and was the only radio reporter present when federal agents stormed the boy's Miami home.

Winton is a 1983 graduate of Columbia College in New York. Previously, he worked freelance for WINS all-news radio in New York City and at WRKL, New City, New York.

EDITORS:

Mike Hammer
Daytime World Editor

A 21-year AP veteran, Mike is the daytime editor of national and international news summaries and stories for the broadcast wires. He joined AP in June of 1980 as a writer and editor for the broadcast wire in New York and moved to Washington three years later when the broadcast wire merged with AP Radio.

While doing general assignment reporting for the radio network - including coverage of the White House, Capitol Hill, and the Supreme Court - Mike continued to serve as a wire writer and editor, as well as BNC supervisor. Mike has traveled the country and the world covering some of the most significant events for AP, including an earthquake, stock market crash, school hostage situation, coup attempt, major sporting events, and numerous political conventions.

He has reported from the presidential and political campaign trips of Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, and was recently the on-scene wire writer at both parties' national political conventions and George W. Bush's inauguration.

Prior to joining AP, Mike worked as a reporter and anchor at radio station WGCH in Greenwich, Connecticut. He holds a degree in journalism from Ohio University and is originally from Long Island, New York.

Lisa Matthews

Editor

Lisa Matthews is an editor and supervisor for AP Radio News.

Lisa directs the radio anchors in the booth and the news correspondents in the field. From reporting to on-air delivery, she is directly involved in setting up all news coverage for the network, including breaking news and live shots for six newscasts each hour during the morning drivetime. Lisa also coordinates coverage for the network for the entire day.

Lisa is a former newsroom supervisor and producer for the Standard News Radio Network and produced the nationally syndicated "Joe Madison Show."

A graduate of James Madison University, Lisa serves as a mentor in JMU's minority mentor program, "Pathways to Success." Similarly, she provides guidance and counsel to minority journalism students in the "Management Shadowing Program," sponsored by the Radio Television News Director's Foundation.

Lisa is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the Washington Association of Black Journalists.

ENTERTAINMENT:

John Anthony

Country Music Reporter

An eight year veteran of AP Broadcast, Anthony has covered many of the major sports events including the Olympics, the Final Four, NBA Finals, and the Masters.

Anthony has a BS in Broadcasting from the University of Florida.

Rosalie Fox
Entertainment Correspondent

Rosalie has been covering the Hollywood entertainment beat -- movies, television and celebrities -- for AP Broadcast since 1996 and has brought AP Radio Network affiliates interviews with the industry's hottest stars, including Nicole Kidman, Michael Douglas, Jodie Foster, Tom Hanks, Jay Leno, Steve Martin, Steven Spielberg, Salma Hayek, George Clooney and many others.

Rosalie regularly covers the Oscars and Emmys along with many other Hollywood events each year, delivering live reports from the events. In addition, she produces two AP Radio Network audio features -- the Hollywood Report and Eye on TV -- and also writes a daily column used by both TV and radio called the Morning Segue.

Rosalie also is enjoying a varied and award-winning journalism career that includes a full shelf of journalism awards including Golden Mikes and several Mark Twain trophies from the Associated Press Television and Radio Association.

Prior to joining AP Radio, she was a general assignment reporter at KFI-AM radio, anchor at KOST-FM, KNX-FM and reporter-anchor at KLAC-AM and KZLA-FM, all in Los Angeles.

She's also been in front of the camera as an anchor at Los Angeles Business Channel 22, KWHY-TV; reporting for CNN's Los Angeles bureau; and working as a reporter-anchor for the NBC-TV affiliate in Bakersfield, KGET-TV. She's also been a news writer for Los Angeles NBC O&O, KNBC-TV. And, she's written and produced a documentary for the Discovery Channel.

She is a proud graduate of Hollywood High School and California State University, Los Angeles, where she was a Dean's List student. She later earned her masters degree in public administration at the University of Southern California.

Oscar Wells Gabriel
AP Radio Network, Urban Correspondent and Editor, "Cyber Corner"

Oscar is a 20-year-plus AP veteran and has been Urban Correspondent since 1992. He has interviewed some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world, including Stevie Wonder, Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Barry White, TLC, Babyface, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Arthur Ashe and scores of others.

In addition to his feature interviews, Oscar has covered breaking stories like reporting live from Los Angeles on the murder of Notorious B.I.G. and the shooting and funeral of Jam Master Jay of Run DMC. He regularly covers the Soul Train Music Awards and also does several Black History Month features.

Oscar also writes and edits the "Cyber Corner" – a daily audio feature highlighting the latest in the hi-tech world.

Margie Szaroleta
Entertainment Reporter

The first song AP Radio Rock Reporter Margie Szaroleta can remember hearing was "Catch A Wave" by the Beach Boys. It was a love affair with music from the very start. Since then, Margie has partied with The Cure, been choked by Alice Cooper and was mistaken for 16 years old by Jerry Lee Lewis.

Margie joined the AP in 1994 and the AP Entertainment Department in 1996. A native of Toledo, Ohio, she previously worked for Toledo's WRQN-FM and WVUD-FM in Dayton, as well as a brief stint opening Charles Kuralt's mail at CBS and interning at Voice of America. And she's no airhead rock chick -- she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Dayton in journalism and has been a member of Mensa since 1994.

Michael Weinfeld
Entertainment Editor

As entertainment editor, Michael coordinates entertainment coverage for AP Radio News and the AP Broadcast Wire. His duties include writing, anchoring, and producing the daily entertainment features and the Entertainment Report.

Michael joined AP as a broadcast writer in New York in October of 1981 and transferred to Washington when the Broadcast Wire merged with the Radio Network in 1983. Since 1987, he has served as entertainment editor and has interviewed some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

In his various capacities at AP, Michael has worked as an anchor, general assignment reporter, producer, supervisor, national editor, and writer. During his tenure, Michael has also dabbled outside the realm of entertainment while working on business, sports, and agriculture reports.

Before joining AP, Michael was the news director of radio station WMMM/WDJF in Westport, Connecticut; an anchor at WPOP, the all-news station in Hartford, Connecticut; and news director at WINY in Putnam, Connecticut. Michael has a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from New York University and is a recipient of the 2001 Gramling Journalism Award.