ESPN MediaZone

Pardon the Interruption, Co-Host; NBA Studio Analyst

Michael Wilbon

Michael Wilbon, the longtime Washington Post sports columnist, is co-host of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, the popular weekday sports debate and discussion program, as well as an NBA studio analyst for both ESPN and ABC.  A pioneer in sports journalism, Wilbon was one of the first sports writers to broaden his success beyond newspapers to include television, radio and other media.

Wilbon and fellow Post sports columnist Tony Kornheiser have co-hosted PTI -- which is aired Monday-Friday 5:30-6 p.m. ET -- since the show’s debut on September 22, 2001.  Highlighted by the type of contentious but good-natured verbal sparring that the two engaged in for years at the Post, the program has increased ratings and viewership numbers each year since its inception with its unique, fast-paced, wide-ranging and humorous discussion of the day’s most important and interesting news in sports and more.

Wilbon and Kornheiser take PTI on the road on Mondays during the NFL season from the site of ESPN’s Monday Night Football games. The duo also continues to appear on SportsCenter, which airs their “Big Finish” segment during the opening 15 minutes of the 6 p.m. edition.

Wilbon was named an NBA studio analyst for ABC in 2006.  During the 2007-08 NBA season, Wilbon expanded his role to include both the GMC NBA Sunday Countdown pre-game show on ABC and ESPN’s Kia NBA Shootaround pre-game studio team.  He currently appears on Countdown with host Stuart Scott and fellow analysts Jon Barry and Magic Johnson.

Wilbon joined The Washington Post in 1980 as a general assignment sports reporter, and since 1990 has been a full-time sports columnist.  In his 28 years at the Post, Wilbon has covered everything from local and national sports to Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the NBA, as well as professional tennis, soccer, and hockey; the Olympic Games, and any number of Super Bowls, Final Fours, World Series, and NBA Finals as a reporter and columnist.

Wilbon’s column in The Post and commentary for ESPN deal as much with issues of the day as what happens on the field or court. His work has earned national recognition from such organizations as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE), The Sporting News, and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) for distinguished reporting or commentary.

In April 1997, Wilbon was inducted as an inaugural member into Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism Hall of Achievement, and in 2000 Sigma Delta Chi, the Society of Professional Journalists, honored him as the top sports columnist in the nation.  Both he and Kornheiser received the prestigious Eugene Meyer Award in 2007, which recognizes Washington Post employees who exemplify the principles embodied by the paper's former owner and publisher -- journalism, business sense and hard work.  In 2009, Wilbon will be honored with the National Association of Black Journalists’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wilbon has appeared on ESPN’s Sports Reporters, Monday Night Countdown and in the booth on ESPN’s Monday Night Football (during Bears-Cardinals game on October 19, 2006).  He also appears weekly on “Redskins Report” and “Full Court Press” on WRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C.

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