Dave Ross (born 1952) 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.
Broadcast career
Born into
a Catholic family in Yorktown Heights, New York
, 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 
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 travelled 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." His radio voice is "resonant and friendly" and working
style has been described as unflappable, "a steady-as-she-goes
levelheadedness and a degree of collaboration that's rare between a
radio host and producer". 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 Awards. He was voted “Best
Talk Show Host” by the
Seattle
Weekly.
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
Representatives 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.
Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society performances
Ross is a
member of the Seattle Gilbert and
Sullivan 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.
Notes
- Rahner, Mark. "KIRO-AM's Dave Ross broadcasting from Persian
Gulf", The Seattle Times, March 18, 2003, accessed May
25, 2009
- "The Dave Ross Show, 9-Noon, M-F", Dave Ross official
biography, September 1, 2007, accessed May 25, 2009
- Howland, George Jr. "Swinging in Seattle's Suburbs", Seattle
Weekly, August 3, 2004
- Jones, Mike. "The discipline of Dave Ross", Seattle
Radio Examiner, Clarity Digital Group LLC, May 8, 2009
- "Dave Ross; One of Bonneville’s Best",
Bonneville International Corporation, March 5, 2008
- The Seattle Times: Politics
- "Burner's (D) race upgraded by CQ", 2006,
accessed May 25, 2009
- Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society
website
- 2006 Review of Seattle's The Pirates of
Penzance, praising Ross as Major General, Seattle
Weekly
References
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