John Fedko is a semi-retired American television sportscaster. He is the former sports director and anchor for Channel 11 Pittsburgh (

WPXI WPXI (channel 11) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Cox Media Group. The station's offices and studios are located on Evergreen Road in the Summer Hill (Pittsburgh), Summer Hill ...

). Fedko also reported for Channel 11 News at 6 and 11 pm, and hosted the ''Fedko Fone Zone'', a local sports call-in show on Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC).John brought "The Fedko Zone" to life when he first introduced the concept upon his arrival to Pittsburgh in 1986. "The Fedko Zone" is a popular sports highlight real that highlights some of the funniest plays in sports. Fedko was voted "Pittsburgh's favorite sportscaster" by ''

Pittsburgh Magazine Pittsburgh Magazine is a lifestyle magazine covering the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. It hosts an annual "40 Under 40" featuring prominent young Pittsburghers. It's known for listicles including Pittsburgh's 25 Best Restaurants, Best of the 'Bur ...

''. He is especially popular during high school football season. In 1995, he was the second-most recognizable personality in Pittsburgh, two percentage points behind

KDKA-TV KDKA-TV (channel 2), branded CBS Pittsburgh, is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division alongside WPKD-TV (channel 19), a ...

Patti Burns Patricia Jeanne Burns (January 27, 1952 – October 31, 2001) was an American journalist and television news anchor. Burns was a familiar face to television audiences in Pittsburgh, where she worked for many years for KDKA-TV, a station for whic ...

. Friday night football is still known as John Fedko's Skylights, which is a staple product of

WPXI-TV WPXI (channel 11) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Cox Media Group. The station's offices and studios are located on Evergreen Road in the Summer Hill neighborhood of Pittsbur ...

Biography

Fedko was born in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton metropolitan ar ...

to John and Catherine Fedko. He has three sisters. The family moved to

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in 1972, where he attended

Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools: United Kingdom * Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland * Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England * Trin ...

in Camp Hill. In 1977, Fedko's family moved to

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, and Fedko entered the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

, but later transferred to

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Tina, and five children, Kaley, Christian, Kyler, Katherine, and Colby.

Career

Fedko began creating home skits at the age of nine. In his early twenties, Fedko sought to become a celebrity by moving into television. Fedko became a TV weatherman and sportscaster in the

Midland–Odessa metropolitan area Midland–Odessa is a metropolitan area located in The Texas Plains approximately half-way between El Paso and Fort Worth, Texas. This combined statistical area (CSA) is made up of two metropolitan statistical areas (the Midland MSA and the O ...

. When the sports director died, Fedko was promoted to sports director at the age of 23. Fedko next moved to KAMR in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

, then

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, then finally to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Fedko announced his semi-retirement from broadcasting in December 2010, to spend more time with his family. After stepping away from his regular on-camera duties at WPXI, Fedko assumed the role of the President of the

Vincentian Academy Vincentian Academy was a Catholic college preparatory school in McCandless, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was located in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. In February 2020, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth announced the school wo ...

on July 1, 2011. He held this role for over five years until the academy relieved him from his role as they sought to step away from the president-principal model that had been in place for many years. Fedko's term as president officially ended on November 1, 2016.

References

American sports announcers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Sportspeople from Lawton, Oklahoma People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania People from Orange County, California University of Southern California alumni Mass media people from Pittsburgh American people of Ukrainian descent {{authority control