Bonnie Bernstein

Infobox journalist
name = Bonnie Bernstein


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birth_date = birth date and age|1970|8|16
birth_place = Brooklyn, New York
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education = University of Maryland, College Park
occupation = Sports Reporter
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URL = http://www.bonniebernstein.com

Bonnie Bernstein (born August 16, 1970, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American television sports reporter and anchor.

Early life and career

Bernstein grew up in Howell, New Jersey. She attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in broadcast journalism, after being a four-time Academic All-America in Gymnastics. She received the Thomas M. Fields award for excellence in academics and sports. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

Bernstein has worked for various radio and television channels: Before her first network job at ESPN, she was the weekday sports anchor at NBC affiliates KRNV-TV and KRNV in Reno, Nevada. Prior to working in Nevada she was the weekend news anchor in Salisbury, Maryland, at ABC's WMDT-TV. She began her career in broadcasting as the news and sports director of WXJN-FM radio in Lewes, Delaware.

ESPN and CBS Sports

Bernstein first joined ESPN in 1995 as its Chicago Bureau Chief, where she covered Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ record-setting championship run. She also filed reports for "SportsCenter" during the Major League Baseball Playoffs and the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, and served as a correspondent for "Sunday NFL Countdown" and "College GameDay".

Bernstein moved to CBS Sports in 1998, where she mostly covered NFL football games and interviewed players and coaches. She covered five Super Bowls; during Super Bowl XXXVIII, she became the first sportscaster in history to cover the Super Bowl for both network television and radio syndication (for Westwood One) at the same time.

During her CBS tenure, Bernstein also covered the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, the US Open, and the NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship; she hosted several half time shows; and worked as a reporter at CBS' "NFL Today" show. It was CBS colleague Dick Enberg who gave Bernstein her nickname of "B-squared".

In January 2006, Bernstein left CBS to pursue other broadcasting opportunities and develop Velvet Hammer Media, a company that helps aspiring or working journalists move up to the next level in their careers. She continued to cover the NFL for Westwood One throughout the 2006 season, with her final broadcast being Super Bowl XLI between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears on February 4, 2007.

Return to ESPN

On July 2, 2006, Bernstein rejoined ESPN as a dugout level reporter for "Sunday Night Baseball" on ESPN with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. However, Bernstein revealed in an interview with realhoboken.com, a New Jersey based online magazine, that she switched to ESPN's "Wednesday Night Baseball" coverage on a limited basis for the 2007 season beginning with the April 11 game between the Seattle Mariners and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park due in part to her continuing recovery from a bout with deep vein thrombosis in October 2006. [ [http://www.realhoboken.com/columns/2007_columns/celebrity1.htm Realhoboken Celebrity Series:An Interview With Bonnie Bernstein] ] Bernstein also served as a sideline reporter for college football on ABC and ESPN with Brad Nessler, Bob Griese and Paul Maguire for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, but announced on her website that she is leaving the sidelines to concentrate on studio hosting and in-depth reporting duties, including her role as a substitute host for "NFL Live", "Jim Rome Is Burning", and "Outside the Lines". Bernstein was also the host for the college football pre-Heisman Trophy special "Countdown to the Heisman" in 2006 and served as a reporter for the live telecast of the Heisman Trophy presentation on ESPN.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.bonniebernstein.com Official website]
* [http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/bonniebernsteinfanclub/ Fan Club]
* [http://www.velvethammermedia.com/ Velvet Hammer Media website]
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/michael_silver/02/17/open.mike/index.html Article on SI.com by Michael Silver about Bernstein's reasons for leaving CBS and her plans for the future]
* [http://media.espn.com/ESPNToday/2006/June_06/bernsteinjoins_06.htm BONNIE BERNSTEIN JOINS ESPN AND ABC AS COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND MLB GAME REPORTER; BEGINS JULY 2]