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Bonnie Bernstein | |
|---|---|
 Bernstein in January 2013 | |
| Born | (1970-08-16)August 16, 1970 (age 55) New York City, US |
| Alma mater | University of Maryland, College Park |
| Occupation(s) | Sportscaster,Entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Website | www |
Bonnie Lynn Bernstein (born August 16, 1970) is an American sportsjournalist 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.
Bernstein was born inBrooklyn, New York, and grew up inHowell, New Jersey.[citation needed] She was salutatorian of her class atHowell High School, where she is a member of the school's Hall of Fame.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] Bernstein attended theUniversity of Maryland, where she graduatedmagna cum laude with a degree inbroadcast journalism.[citation needed] She was a four-timeAcademic All-America ingymnastics, receiving the Thomas M. Fields award for excellence in academics and athletics.[citation needed] Bernstein maintains close ties to her alma mater, and is on the Board of Visitors for thePhilip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland and the advisory board for the Povich Center for Sports Journalism.[2]
Bernstein spent three years climbing the local broadcast ladder, launching her career as the news and sports director at WXJN-FM radio inLewes, Delaware.[citation needed] She transitioned to television atWMDT-TV inSalisbury, Maryland as theABC affiliate's weekend news anchor, then becameReno, Nevada's, first-ever female weekday sports anchor atNBC affiliateKRNV-TV.[citation needed]
Bernstein first joined ESPN in 1995 as its Chicago Bureau Chief, where she coveredMichael Jordan and theChicago Bulls' record-setting championship run (1996–98).[citation needed] She also was a correspondent forSunday NFL Countdown andCollege GameDay and filed reports forSportsCenter during theMajor League Baseball post-season and theNCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship.[citation needed]
Bernstein joinedCBS Sports in 1998 as the lead sideline reporter for theNCAA Men's Basketball Championships and feature reporter forThe NFL Today.[3] The following year, she transitioned to sideline reporting for theNFL on CBS. She worked with theVerne Lundquist/Dick Enberg andDan Dierdorf crew until 2003, when she was promoted to the lead crew ofJim Nantz andPhil Simms.[citation needed] Bernstein coveredSuper BowlsXXXV andXXXVIII 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 forCBS Sports andWestwood One Radio.[4]
Upon signing with CBS/Westwood One Radio in 2001, Bernstein often pulled "double duty" during theNFL season, covering a Sunday game forCBS andMonday Night Football for radio.[citation needed]
In addition to her NFL and college basketball duties, Bernstein hosted theNCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship and CBS' anthology series,Championships of the NCAA, and was a studio host forCBS SportsDesk andAt The Half, CBS Sports' college basketball halftime studio show. Bernstein also coveredtennis,track and field,horse racing andfigure skating for the network and hosted theU.S. Open Tennis Championships studio show and theHambletonian.[citation needed]
In July 2006, Bernstein rejoined ESPN as the lead college football reporter for ESPN on ABC and thefield reporter forSunday Night Baseball withJon Miller andJoe Morgan.[citation needed] On October 11, 2006, five days after experiencing severe leg pain while covering the Texas-OklahomaRed 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, includingNFL Live,Jim Rome Is Burning,Outside the Lines,First Take andCollege Football Live.[citation needed]
In September 2009, Bernstein was named co-host ofThe Michael Kay Show on1050 ESPN Radio in New York.[citation needed] She also covered theNew York Jets and hosted specialty programming during the2009–10 NFL playoffs.[citation needed] In July 2010, Bernstein was given her own daily NFL show,New York Football Live, co-hosted by Jets linebackerGreg Buttle.[6]
In April 2013, Bernstein was named vice president of Content and Brand Development for Campus Insiders, a digital partnership between Silver Chalice Ventures, founded byChicago Bulls andWhite Sox ownerJerry Reinsdorf, andIMG 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 andNCAA 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.[citation needed]
In January 2017, Bernstein founded Walk Swiftly Productions, where she is CEO.[citation needed] 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).[citation needed] 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'sCountry 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.[citation needed]
Bernstein is the only female ever to solo fill-in host for the syndicated radio and TV program,The Dan Patrick Show[citation needed] and appears as a guest commentator on several news networks, includingNBC,MSNBC andFOX News Channel, to discuss prominent sports stories.[citation needed]
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