American sports journalist and executive
Bonnie Lynn Bernstein
(born August 16, 1970) is an American sports
journalist
and media executive. She has been named one of the most accomplished female sportscasters in history by the American Sportscasters Association, spending nearly 20 years as a reporter and studio host at ESPN, ABC and CBS Sports, covering the NFL, NBA, MLB and college football and basketball.
[1]
Bernstein is currently the founder and CEO of Walk Swiftly Productions, a multimedia production company specializing in non-scripted sports and entertainment content.
Biography
[
edit
]
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Bernstein was born in
Brooklyn, New York
, and grew up in
Howell, New Jersey
. She was salutatorian of her class at
Howell High School
, where she is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame. Bernstein was a four-time MVP of the Rebels gymnastics team, and also received varsity letters in indoor track and outdoor track and field, where she competed in hurdles, the 4x400 relay, javelin and shotput. Bernstein attended the
University of Maryland
, where she graduated
magna cum laude
with a degree in
broadcast journalism
. She was a four-time
Academic All-America
in
gymnastics
, receiving the Thomas M. Fields award for excellence in academics and athletics. Bernstein maintains close ties to her alma mater, and is on the Board of Visitors for the
Philip Merrill College of Journalism
at the University of Maryland and the advisory board for the Povich Center for Sports Journalism.
[2]
Early career
[
edit
]
Bernstein spent three years climbing the local broadcast ladder, launching her career as the news and sports director at WXJN-FM radio in
Lewes, Delaware
. She transitioned to television at
WMDT-TV
in
Salisbury, Maryland
as the
ABC
affiliate's weekend news anchor, then became
Reno, Nevada
's, first-ever female weekday sports anchor at
NBC
affiliate
KRNV-TV
.
ESPN
[
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]
Bernstein first joined ESPN in 1995 as its Chicago Bureau Chief, where she covered
Michael Jordan
and the
Chicago Bulls
' record-setting championship run (1996–98). She also was a correspondent for
Sunday NFL Countdown
and
College GameDay
and filed reports for
SportsCenter
during the
Major League Baseball
post-season and the
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
.
CBS Sports
[
edit
]
Bernstein joined
CBS Sports
in 1998 as the lead sideline reporter for the
NCAA Men's Basketball Championships
and feature reporter for
The NFL Today
.
[3]
The following year, she transitioned to sideline reporting for the
NFL on CBS
. She worked with the
Verne Lundquist
/
Dick Enberg
and
Dan Dierdorf
crew until 2003, when she was promoted to the lead crew of
Jim Nantz
and
Phil Simms
. Bernstein covered
Super Bowls
XXXV
and
XXXVIII
for the network and during Super Bowl XXXVIII, became the first correspondent ever to cover the game for both network television and network radio, filing reports for
CBS Sports
and
Westwood One Radio
.
[4]
Upon signing with CBS/Westwood One Radio in 2001, Bernstein often pulled "double duty" during the
NFL
season, covering a Sunday game for
CBS
and
Monday Night Football
for radio.
In addition to her NFL and college basketball duties, Bernstein hosted the
NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
and CBS' anthology series,
Championships of the NCAA
, and was a studio host for
CBS SportsDesk
and
At The Half
, CBS Sports' college basketball halftime studio show. Bernstein also covered
tennis
,
track and field
,
horse racing
and
figure skating
for the network and hosted the
U.S. Open Tennis Championships
studio show and the
Hambletonian
.
Return to ESPN
[
edit
]
In July 2006, Bernstein rejoined ESPN as the lead college football reporter for ESPN on ABC and the
field reporter
for
Sunday Night Baseball
with
Jon Miller
and
Joe Morgan
. On October 11, 2006, five days after experiencing severe leg pain while covering the Texas-Oklahoma
Red River Rivalry
, doctors discovered life-threatening blood clots in both of Bernstein's lungs (
pulmonary emboli
) that originated in her left leg (
deep vein thrombosis
).
[5]
She returned to ESPN and ABC several weeks later, but reduced her travel schedule the following season as a precautionary health measure, shifting focus to studio hosting many of ESPN’s high-profile shows, including
NFL Live
,
Jim Rome Is Burning
,
Outside the Lines
,
First Take
and
College Football Live
.
Radio hosting
[
edit
]
In September 2009, Bernstein was named co-host of
The Michael Kay Show
on
1050 ESPN Radio
in New York. She also covered the
New York Jets
and hosted specialty programming during the
2009?10 NFL playoffs
. In July 2010, Bernstein was given her own daily NFL show,
New York Football Live
, co-hosted by Jets linebacker
Greg Buttle
.
[6]
Campus Insiders
[
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]
In April 2013, Bernstein was named vice president of Content and Brand Development for Campus Insiders, a digital partnership between Silver Chalice Ventures, founded by
Chicago Bulls
and
White Sox
owner
Jerry Reinsdorf
, and
IMG College
, the nation's largest collegiate sports marketing company.
[7]
Bernstein was also the on-air "face" of the network, hosting daily studio shows during the college football season and
NCAA Basketball Championship
.
[8]
Her off-air responsibilities included creating original programming for the network, developing and securing new sponsor partnerships, and designing brand extensions that enhanced the reach of CI's digital and social platforms.
Walk Swiftly Productions
[
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]
In January 2017, Bernstein founded Walk Swiftly Productions, where she is CEO. Through WSP and her consultancy, Velvet Hammer Media, Bernstein collaborates with some of sports’ most prominent organizations, including the NCAA and the College Football Playoff (CFP). In 2019, ESPN's docuseries,
GOOD GAME: UC Irvine,
produced by WSP and executive produced by Bernstein, received the Tempest Award for "Best Esports-Themed Program;",
[9]
and CMT's
Country on Campus
received nominations for "Best Music Series" and "Best Sports and Recreation" series at the Cynopsis Short Form Video Awards
.
[10]
Other notable WSP titles include the XFL’s signature series, “For the Love of Football" and the Audible Originals audio series,
She Got Game.
Other broadcast work
[
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]
Bernstein is the only female ever to solo fill-in host for the syndicated radio and TV program,
The Dan Patrick Show
[11]
and appears as a guest commentator on several news networks, including
NBC
,
MSNBC
and
FOX News Channel
, to discuss prominent sports stories.
Outside endeavors
[
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]
Bernstein's philanthropic efforts focus on two areas:
deep vein thrombosis
awareness and youth health and wellness. Bernstein has been the co-national spokesperson for the Coalition to Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis, raising awareness about the blood disorder she was diagnosed with in 2006. In 2010, she co-chaired the coalition supporting congressional passage of the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, which raises private funds for childhood obesity initiatives. From 2012-15, Bernstein was a media strategist and national ambassador for ING KiDS ROCK, one of the nation's largest school-based running programs. Bernstein is a Celebrity Ambassador for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Co-Chair of the Advisory Board for Every Kid Sports, a nonprofit that provide grants to cover youth sports league registration fees for children in underserved communities (
link
).
Notes and references
[
edit
]
- ^
"ASA Names 'Top 15 Women Sportscasters,' Visser Voted No 1"
. American Sportscasters Online.
Archived
from the original on 2019-04-22
. Retrieved
2013-01-28
.
- ^
"
TerpVision
: Meet Bonnie Bernstein"
.
University of Maryland
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-03-25
. Retrieved
2012-03-13
.
- ^
"CBS Sports Team: Bonnie Bernstein"
.
CBS Sports
. Retrieved
2012-03-13
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
CBS Sports TV Team, Bonnie Bernstein, Reporter,
"CBS Sports TV Team"
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-10-10
. Retrieved
2009-04-05
.
- ^
Real Life: DVT: Vein Pain Alert,
"Real Life"
. Archived from
the original
on 2013-03-25
. Retrieved
2013-01-28
.
- ^
"1050 ESPN New York. About Our Hosts: Bonnie Bernstein and Greg Buttle"
.
ESPN.com
. Retrieved
December 4,
2018
.
- ^
Ourand, John (April 2, 2013).
"Bonnie Bernstein Joins Campus Insiders In On-Camera, Exec Roles"
.
SportsBusiness Daily
.
Archived
from the original on December 5, 2018
. Retrieved
April 2,
2013
.
- ^
"Bonnie Bernstein Named On-Air Host, Content and Branding Executive for Campus Insiders"
.
Business Wire
. April 2, 2013
. Retrieved
August 20,
2013
.
- ^
"2019 Winners Announced"
.
Archived
from the original on 2024-04-27
. Retrieved
2023-10-27
.
- ^
"2019 Short Form Video Festival"
.
Cynopsis Media
. Retrieved
2023-10-27
.
- ^
Edwards, Devon (July 24, 2012).
"O'Brien on Dan Patrick Show: I'm Proud To Be Coaching This Football Program"
.
Black Shoe Diaries
.
Archived
from the original on December 6, 2018
. Retrieved
December 4,
2018
.
External links
[
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]
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