Doug Russell (radio personality)
Doug Russell is an American sportswriter, television personality, and local and nationally syndicated radio talk show host. Russell currently serves as a talk show host and is the Sports Director for heritage station WTMJ in Milwaukee and is a national contributor for Yahoo! Sports Radio.
Russell has also been heard in national syndication on the former Sporting News Radio from 2000-2007, and was the morning show host and Sports Director for WSSP Radio from 2007-2011.
Background
Doug Russell was born November 9, 1972 in Jackson, Mississippi, but his family moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin when he was a child. After graduating from Waukesha North High School in 1990, he went on to the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh where he graduated from in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-TV-Film, Broadcast News emphasis. One of Russell's roommates while in college was country music record producer Mike Wrucke.
Russell is the cousin of Western movie actor Ward Bond and is a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. In 2008, he became an ordained minister from the First Nation Church, and has officiated the wedding ceremonies of several listeners of his radio show. Russell was also a childhood friend of comedian Frank Caliendo, who has appeared on his shows on both Yahoo! Sports Radio and WTMJ.
Resume
Russell began his career while still in college. His first radio job was at WCWC Radio (now WRPN) in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1992. From there, he worked at WOSH in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, KFIZ in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While working simultaneously at Sporting News Radio, Russell was a regular fill-in update anchor on affiliate KMPC in Los Angeles, and was the interim morning show host on WNNR in Jacksonville, Florida. He also spent one season as an in between periods update reporter on the New York Islanders Radio Network. In 2006, in addition to hosting his nationally syndicated radio show, Russell was a regularly featured television contributor to CSN Chicago's Chicago Tribune Live. In September 2007, he hosted the television special Milwaukee Braves: The Golden Legacy which aired on Fox Sports Wisconsin, and narrated its accompanying DVD. In March 2009, Russell appeared in the PBS documentary A Braves New World which was produced by William Povletich in conjunction with Milwaukee Public Television. From 2007-2009, Russell regularly appeared on WITI-TV's Green Bay Packers post-game show. In 2010, Russell again lent his voice to a baseball documentary, narrating the Xavier Films biopic, Bruce Froemming and Life on the Diamond. From 2008-2011 Russell was a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and Inside Wisconsin Sports Magazine.
Among the events he has covered include Super Bowls XXXI, XXXII, XXXIX, XLV, XLVI, the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship, the Kentucky Derby, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, the Davis Cup, and the Rose Bowl. Russell has also been the recipient of numerous broadcasting honors, including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Journalistic Excellence. In 2010, Russell was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on WDJT-TV's Milwaukee Brewers preseason special.
In July 2011, Russell returned to national syndication at Yahoo! Sports Radio as a talk show host and update anchor. In November 2012, he returned to WTMJ, where he had previously worked from 1996-2000, but still appears regularly on YSR as well.
In addition, Russell co-hosted Milwaukee's CBS affiliate WDJT-TV's Sports Fanatics Sunday morning roundtable program, and still appears regularly on Time Warner Sports Milwaukee. Russell also has been a features writer for the GameDay programs for the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. From 2010–2011, he was the public address announcer for the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League.
In September 2011, Russell began writing a daily sports column for the website OnMilwaukee.com. In 2013, Russell returned to Milwaukee Magazine to write long-form sports features. His feature "Endangered Species" won the Milwaukee Press Club Gold Award for best sports story in Wisconsin for 2013.
YSR Tonight and Wisconsin Sports Weekend with Doug Russell
Whether in national syndication or locally, Russell's program opens underneath the song Float On by Modest Mouse and closes underneath the song Closing Time by Semisonic.
In all forms and everywhere it has aired, the show features ten rules:
- Idiocy shall not be tolerated.
- Rule No. 1 goes both ways.
- If you are unintentionally hung up on, you are owed a beer.
- It is up to you to collect said beer from Rule No. 3
- Anything said on the show is fair game.
- Game of Shadows is required text.
- To the victors go the spoils.
- Dissent is encouraged.
- Don't be THAT guy.
- After the show ends, 'we're all friends again'.