Jon Kelley (born August 5, 1965) is an American sports journalist, author, producer, and television personality. Born and raised in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

, Kelley played four seasons of

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

before graduating from the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

. He signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) in 1988 before embarking on a broadcasting career. He served as the host of the fifth season of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's reality television show '' The Mole''.

Television work

Chicago sports anchor

During his eight years in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Kelley was widely regarded as one of the region's top sports anchors and directors, covering the World Championship

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in all six of the team's title seasons. In addition to his nightly sportscasts, Kelley hosted the number one rated "Sports Sunday," WMAQ-TV's half-hour, expanded sports highlights program. There he shared the anchor desk with some of the city's most dynamic sports and entertainment personalities, including

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

star

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

and "Tonight Show" host

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...

among others. Kelley joined WMAQ-TV as a sports reporter and weekend anchor in April 1991.

WMAQ-TV

While at WMAQ-TV, Kelley was part of a sports team that earned such prestigious awards as the Chicago/Midwest Emmy award for producing and anchoring his hour-long special highlighting the Chicago Bulls' quest for a fifth championship. Kelley also received the Peter Lisagor Award for Sports Journalism and an Illinois Broadcasters Association Silver Dome Award for Best Sportscast.

Early broadcast career

During his early years in broadcasting, Kelley did stints as a sports reporter and weekend sports anchor at WDAF-TV, Channel 4, the Fox affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri, and worked as a news reporter at KMTV-TV in Omaha, Nebraska. He began his career as a weekend sports anchor and reporter at KTIV-TV in Sioux City, Iowa.

Fox Sports Network

Kelley served as the main anchor for the Fox Sports Network's "The National Sports Report," and the lead anchor for the weekly series "Baseball Today."

Extra

Kelley co-hosted " Extra's" one-hour weekend edition and was the show's primary correspondent from 2001 through 2007.

ABC and The Mole

Kelley co-hosted ABC's "Holiday with the Stars" and ABC's "All-Star Tribute to Movies" on Oscar Sunday. His diverse broadcast career has spanned over 15 years in news, sports, and entertainment. He hosted the summer 2008 revival of the reality TV series '' The Mole'', the show previously hosted by Anderson Cooper and Ahmad Rashad.

KNTV-TV

On July 8, 2011, it was announced that Kelley would join the NBC affiliate in San Francisco as co-anchor of the morning show.

WFLD

In November 2013, Kelley left San Francisco and returned to Chicago to join the

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

owned and operated station in Chicago to co-anchor ''Good Day Chicago''.

Entertainment Studios

In June 2016, Kelley teamed up with media mogul

Byron Allen Byron Allen (born Byron Allen Folks on April 22, 1961) is an American businessman, film and television producer, and comedian. He is the founder of the American media company Allen Media Group (formerly Entertainment Studios), which has intere ...

, joining Allen's

Entertainment Studios Allen Media Group, alternately known by its former name of Entertainment Studios, Inc. is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved ...

. Kelley assumes hosting and producing duties on several of Allen's television properties, including the revival of the late 1960s game show '' Funny You Should Ask'', launching in syndication in the fall of 2017; the celebrity interview series '' Entertainers'' and the sports profile series '' The American Athlete''. Additionally, Kelley takes on a role with Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, working with Freestyle Releasing, acquired by Allen in 2015. Kelley also produces content for Entertainment Studios’ video news platform, TheGrio.com.

Writings

Kelley is the co-author of the book "Breaking Into Broadcasting," a guide to landing one's first (or next) on-air job in television.

Shows

Kelley hosts the TV show "Funny You Should Ask," A comedy show airing on ABC.

References

External links

"The Mole" Page on ABC.com (Official)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Jon 1965 births American television reporters and correspondents American football running backs Denver Broncos players American game show hosts Living people Writers from Lincoln, Nebraska American sports announcers Participants in American reality television series African-American game show hosts 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen