WTOP’s McConnell Celebrates Five Decades with Station
Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 22, 2015 -- WTOP this week is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the radio debut of reporter Dave McConnell.
McConnell started with WTOP on January 18, 1965 as a reporter for what was then 1500 AM. He has spent most of his career as the station’s Capitol Hill Correspondent, where he remains the only full-time Congressional Correspondent for a local radio station in the United States.
“It is part of WTOP lore that while other kids were skipping school to see the Washington Senators play at Griffith Stadium, Dave was skipping school to hear the real Senators debate on Capitol Hill,” says longtime WTOP News Director Mike McMearty.
He started out as a local reporter, and soon found himself behind the microphone at the anchor desk before transitioning to the Hill.
His career has spanned 12 presidential elections and five inaugurations. He’s covered breaking news not only on the Hill but around the rest of D.C., including the 14th Street Bridge Air Florida crash, the shooting of Ronald Reagan, the 1989 Capitol shootings and September 11, 2001.
McMearty continues, “Dave McConnell is a class act. He’s a mixture of hustle, honesty and humbleness. Dave lets the members of congress express their point-of-view without inserting opinion or commentary. He is, and has always been known as, an honest broker. I consider it an honor to have worked with him for more than 20 years of his illustrious career.”
McConnell can be heard live each weekday morning and afternoon, just steps from the House floor in his hourly “Today on the Hill” segments.
He says he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
A multimedia story about McConnell’s career thus far can be found at: http://wtop.com/local/2015/01/golden-voice-sterling-reputation-wtops-dave-mcconnell-celebrates-50-years/slide/1/
About WTOP
WTOP Radio has served the Washington region since 1926 and has been Washington’s all-news radio station since 1969. WTOP is available on 103.5 FM in the D.C. metro, 103.9 FM in Frederick, 107.7 FM to the South and at WTOP.com. WTOP and its sister station Federal News Radio are owned and operated by Hubbard Radio, LLC.
Contacts:
News Director, Mike McMearty
mmcmearty(at)wtop(dot)com
Director of Marketing, Mary Kay LeMay
mklemay(at)wtop(dot)com
Mary Kay LeMay, Hubbard Radio Washington, DC LLC, +1 (202) 895-5112, [email protected]
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