Dave Ross
Encyclopedia
Dave Ross is a talk show
host on Seattle's KIRO-FM radio station
, with whom he had been a news anchor from 1978 until his talk show started nine years later in 1987. He has sometimes broadcast his show while on assignment in other locations, including overseas, such as Baghdad, Iraq in April 2004. He was the 2004 Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives
for . Ross is also heard on a national daily commentary for the CBS Radio Network
where he provides political commentary.
, Ross is the son of a commercial artist and has a brother and two sisters. He started his broadcast career at the age of 15 at WVIP
in Mt. Kisco, New York. After graduating from Cornell University
in 1973, where he was a member of the Cornell University Glee Club
and the Quill and Dagger
society, Ross worked as a reporter at WSB in Atlanta, Georgia
from 1974 to 1978.
In addition to hosting his talk show on radio station KIRO (AM)
in Seattle, Ross broadcasts a national daily commentary on the CBS Radio Network
. From 1983-2004 he hosted and produced the first syndicated daily radio report on computers, for the Associated Press
, called Chip Talk
. He was also part of the 1995 Launch Team for CNET
, where he contributed segments called The Last Word to c|net central. Since 1992, Ross has also filled in for CBS Radio colleague Charles Osgood
on his "Osgood File" commentaries. Ross has broadcast from overseas or outside Seattle to cover various historic events. For example, on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
, Ross traveled to the Persian Gulf
to broadcast his radio show from Qatar
. Other field trips included forays to cover the Pope's visit to Britain in 1982, trips to China in 1984 and the Soviet Union
in 1987, the toppling of the Berlin Wall
and the revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989, the 1992 Rodney King
riots Los Angeles, a 2002 trip to Jerusalem after a series of suicide bombings, a trip to Baghdad
in April 2004 and many others.
Ross has generally been portrayed as liberal (although he has also been called a moderate), but is also known for bringing those with opposing conservative views on his radio program to interview and debate. According to the Seattle Times: "Ross listens, circles around guests with Socratic questions, then makes sharp observations but never goes for the jugular.... [He] remains gracious." In addition to his editorials, Ross is also known for his "flitch" songs (songs using existing melodies, but with new lyrics, usually based on current events) and often sings one as part of his radio show and CBS segments. The Seattle Times wrote that "the best of [these] could stand alongside those of the legendary Tom Lehrer
."
Ross received the 2001 and 2005 RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Commentary. He was unable to accept the 2001 award personally, however, because the ceremony was scheduled for September 12, 2001. He was booked on a flight to Nashville on September 11, 2001 but instead ended up on assignment in New York City covering the terrorist attacks. Ross has also received a Marconi Award
nomination and Clarion and Gabriel Award
s. He was voted “Best Talk Show Host” by the Seattle Weekly
.
On October 26, 2010 it was announced that Luke Burbank
would be joining Ross as co-host on his KIRO radio show.
He met his wife Patti at Cornell, and they married in 1973. They have two daughters, Caitlin and Emilie.
for as a Democrat. He began a leave of absence from KIRO at noon on July 23, 2004, to coincide with the beginning of his active candidacy. The seat was held by Republican
Jennifer Dunn
, who retired in 2004.
In the primary election
held on September 14, 2004, Ross decisively defeated fellow Democrats Alex Alben
and Heidi Behrens-Benedict
. In the general election against King County
Sheriff
Dave Reichert
in the general election
on November 2, 2004, anti-Ross advertisements paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee
said that Ross "empowered terrorists" and that he would "wave a white flag" against them. The commercials said that Ross supported cuts to defense spending by $100 billion, but in fact Ross' statement was that he opposed the $100 billion missile-defense system sought by the Bush administration.
CQPolitics described the race this way: "Reichert's record as sheriff – which included capture of the notorious "Green River" serial killer
– enabled him to defeat Democrat Dave Ross, a well-known Seattle-based radio talk show host, in 2004 with 51.5 percent and a 5 percentage-point margin." Ross returned to his talk show the following day.
Society, and has regularly appeared in their summer performances at Seattle Center
, playing over 25 roles with the company. He is known among G&S fans as an excellent character actor, usually portraying the famous Gilbert & Sullivan "patter" roles
. At the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
in Buxton
, England, he played the role of Rudolph in the company's The Grand Duke
in 1999 and also appeared at the festival in 1996.
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
host on Seattle's KIRO-FM radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
, with whom he had been a news anchor from 1978 until his talk show started nine years later in 1987. He has sometimes broadcast his show while on assignment in other locations, including overseas, such as Baghdad, Iraq in April 2004. He was the 2004 Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for . Ross is also heard on a national daily commentary for the CBS Radio Network
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
where he provides political commentary.
Broadcast career
Born into a Catholic family in Yorktown Heights, New YorkYorktown Heights, New York
Yorktown Heights is a census-designated place in the town of Yorktown in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Yorktown Heights is located at ....
, Ross is the son of a commercial artist and has a brother and two sisters. He started his broadcast career at the age of 15 at WVIP
WVIP
WVIP is a radio station broadcasting a World Ethnic format. Licensed to New Rochelle, New York, USA, it serves the New York metropolitan area. Formerly known as WRTN-93.5 and renamed WVIP, the station is currently owned by Hudson-Westchester Radio, Inc. and features programing from Jones Radio...
in Mt. Kisco, New York. After graduating from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1973, where he was a member of the Cornell University Glee Club
Cornell University Glee Club
The Cornell University Glee Club is the oldest student organization at Cornell University, having been organized shortly after the first students arrived on campus in 1868. The CUGC is a sixty-member chorus for male voices, with repertoire including classical, folk, 20th century music, and...
and the Quill and Dagger
Quill and Dagger
Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent collegiate societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones of Yale University...
society, Ross worked as a reporter at WSB in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
from 1974 to 1978.
In addition to hosting his talk show on radio station KIRO (AM)
KIRO (AM)
KIRO is a radio station based in Seattle, Washington on the shores of Lake Union with 2 towers on Maury Island, broadcasting on 710 kHz in the AM radio spectrum...
in Seattle, Ross broadcasts a national daily commentary on the CBS Radio Network
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
. From 1983-2004 he hosted and produced the first syndicated daily radio report on computers, for the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, called Chip Talk
Chip Talk
Chip Talk is a radio show syndicated by the Associated Press Radio Network. Launched in the early 1980s, it is the longest-running computer-related broadcast program on the air. It was written and hosted by Seattle radio personality Dave Ross, who had produced the program since its inception, until...
. He was also part of the 1995 Launch Team for CNET
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
, where he contributed segments called The Last Word to c|net central. Since 1992, Ross has also filled in for CBS Radio colleague Charles Osgood
Charles Osgood
Charles Osgood is a radio and television commentator in the United States. His daily program, The Osgood File, has been broadcast on the CBS Radio Network since 1971. He is also known for being the voice of the narrator of Horton Hears a Who!, an animated film released in 2008, based on the book...
on his "Osgood File" commentaries. Ross has broadcast from overseas or outside Seattle to cover various historic events. For example, on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, Ross traveled to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
to broadcast his radio show from Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. Other field trips included forays to cover the Pope's visit to Britain in 1982, trips to China in 1984 and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1987, the toppling of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
and the revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989, the 1992 Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
riots Los Angeles, a 2002 trip to Jerusalem after a series of suicide bombings, a trip to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
in April 2004 and many others.
Ross has generally been portrayed as liberal (although he has also been called a moderate), but is also known for bringing those with opposing conservative views on his radio program to interview and debate. According to the Seattle Times: "Ross listens, circles around guests with Socratic questions, then makes sharp observations but never goes for the jugular.... [He] remains gracious." In addition to his editorials, Ross is also known for his "flitch" songs (songs using existing melodies, but with new lyrics, usually based on current events) and often sings one as part of his radio show and CBS segments. The Seattle Times wrote that "the best of [these] could stand alongside those of the legendary Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...
."
Ross received the 2001 and 2005 RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Commentary. He was unable to accept the 2001 award personally, however, because the ceremony was scheduled for September 12, 2001. He was booked on a flight to Nashville on September 11, 2001 but instead ended up on assignment in New York City covering the terrorist attacks. Ross has also received a Marconi Award
NAB Marconi Radio Awards
The Marconi Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters to the top radio stations and on-air personalities in the United States. The awards are named in honor of Guglielmo Marconi, the man generally credited as the "Father of Wireless Telegraphy." NAB member...
nomination and Clarion and Gabriel Award
Gabriel Award
The Gabriel Awards were originated by the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals in 1965. They were designed to honor works of broadcast excellence that have a positive and creative treatment of concerns to mankind....
s. He was voted “Best Talk Show Host” by the Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly...
.
On October 26, 2010 it was announced that Luke Burbank
Luke Burbank
Luke Burbank is an American podcaster who currently hosts the Seattle-based former radio program and current podcast Too Beautiful to Live....
would be joining Ross as co-host on his KIRO radio show.
Other personal details
He has served as President of the St. Monica’s school commission, a member of the Eastside Board of Catholic Community Services, and was on the steering committee of the Campaign 5000 African-American community development bank. As of 2007, he served on the boards of the Seattle Transportation Choices Coalition and Economic Opportunity Institute.He met his wife Patti at Cornell, and they married in 1973. They have two daughters, Caitlin and Emilie.
2004 US House election
In May 2004, Ross announced his candidacy for the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for as a Democrat. He began a leave of absence from KIRO at noon on July 23, 2004, to coincide with the beginning of his active candidacy. The seat was held by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Jennifer Dunn
Jennifer Dunn
Jennifer Blackburn Dunn was a prominent Republican member of the United States House of Representatives 1993–2005, representing .-Early life:...
, who retired in 2004.
In the primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
held on September 14, 2004, Ross decisively defeated fellow Democrats Alex Alben
Alex Alben
Alex Alben , American politician, author and technology executive, was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 2004, a campaign which drew national attention because of the high tech district and the media personalities involved in the race, as noted by media coverage in The...
and Heidi Behrens-Benedict
Heidi Behrens-Benedict
Heidi Behrens-Benedict, an American political candidate. She has been a four-time candidate for the United States House of Representatives, running as a Democrat in the Eighth Congressional District of Washington...
. In the general election against King County
King County, Washington
King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....
Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Dave Reichert
Dave Reichert
David George Reichert is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as Sheriff of King County, Washington.-Early life, education and career:...
in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
on November 2, 2004, anti-Ross advertisements paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
said that Ross "empowered terrorists" and that he would "wave a white flag" against them. The commercials said that Ross supported cuts to defense spending by $100 billion, but in fact Ross' statement was that he opposed the $100 billion missile-defense system sought by the Bush administration.
CQPolitics described the race this way: "Reichert's record as sheriff – which included capture of the notorious "Green River" serial killer
Gary Ridgway
Gary Leon Ridgway is an American serial killer known as the Green River Killer. He murdered numerous women in Washington during the 1980s and 1990s, earning his nickname when the first five victims were found in the Green River. He strangled them, usually with his arm but sometimes using ligatures...
– enabled him to defeat Democrat Dave Ross, a well-known Seattle-based radio talk show host, in 2004 with 51.5 percent and a 5 percentage-point margin." Ross returned to his talk show the following day.
Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society performances
Ross is a member of the Seattle Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
Society, and has regularly appeared in their summer performances at Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
, playing over 25 roles with the company. He is known among G&S fans as an excellent character actor, usually portraying the famous Gilbert & Sullivan "patter" roles
Patter song
The patter song is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note...
. At the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival is held every summer at the Opera House in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. The three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan performances and fringe events attracts thousands of visitors, including performers, supporters, and G&S enthusiasts from all...
in Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
, England, he played the role of Rudolph in the company's The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel, is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on March 7, 1896, and ran for 123 performances...
in 1999 and also appeared at the festival in 1996.
External links
- Dave Ross official website
- CBS page about their Dave Ross commentaries
- Article on Ross interviewing skills
- Links to 2007 Dave Ross radio commentaries
- John C Dvorak's 2005 analysis of Ross
- Dave Ross on seattle's 710 KIRO (AM)
- Links to Dave Ross editorial CBS broadcasts from 2009
- Article about fundraising for 2010 fireworks