John Fedko is a semi-retired American television sportscaster. He is the former sports director and anchor for Channel 11 Pittsburgh (

WPXI WPXI (channel 11) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Cox Media Group. The station's offices and studios are located on Evergreen Road in the Summer Hill neighborhood of Pittsbur ...

). Fedko also reported for Channel 11 News at 6 and 11 pm, and hosted the ''Fedko Fone Zone'', a local sports call-in show on

Pittsburgh Cable News Channel The Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC) is a regional cable news television channel serving the Western Pennsylvania area. It is owned by Cox Media Group, which also owns WPXI, another Pittsburgh-area station from which PCNC simulcasts or replays ...

(PCNC).John brought "The Fedko Zone" to life when he first introduced the concept upon his arrival to Pittsburgh in 1986. "The Fedko Zone" is a popular sports highlight real that highlights some of the funniest plays in sports. Fedko was voted "Pittsburgh's favorite sportscaster" by ''

Pittsburgh Magazine Pittsburgh Magazine is a lifestyle magazine covering the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. It hosts an annual "40 Under 40" featuring prominent young Pittsburghers. It's known for listicles including Pittsburgh's 25 Best Restaurants, Best of the 'Bur ...

''. He is especially popular during high school football season. In 1995, he was the second-most recognizable personality in Pittsburgh, two percentage points behind

KDKA-TV KDKA-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division a ...

's Patti Burns. Friday night football is still known as John Fedko's Skylights, which is a staple product of

WPXI-TV WPXI (channel 11) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Cox Media Group. The station's offices and studios are located on Evergreen Road in the Summer Hill neighborhood of Pittsburg ...

Biography

Fedko was born in Lawton, Oklahoma to John and Catherine Fedko. He has three sisters. The family moved to

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in 1972, where he attended

Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools: United Kingdom * Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland * Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England *Trini ...

in Camp Hill. In 1977, Fedko's family moved to

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, and Fedko entered the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

, but later transferred to

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Tina, and five children, Kaley, Christian, Kyler, Katherine, and Colby.

Career

Fedko began creating home skits at the age of nine. In his early twenties, Fedko sought to become a celebrity by moving into television. Fedko became a TV weatherman and sportscaster in the

Midland–Odessa metropolitan area Midland–Odessa is a metropolitan area located in West Texas approximately half-way between El Paso, Texas, El Paso and Fort Worth, Texas. This combined statistical area (CSA) is made up of two metropolitan statistical areas (the Midland, Texas m ...

. When the sports director died, Fedko was promoted to sports director at the age of 23. Fedko next moved to KAMR in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

, then

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, then finally to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. Fedko announced his semi-retirement from broadcasting in December 2010, to spend more time with his family. After stepping away from his regular on-camera duties at WPXI, Fedko assumed the role of the President of the

Vincentian Academy Vincentian Academy was a Roman Catholic college preparatory school near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. In February 2020 the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth announced the school would cease oper ...

on July 1, 2011. He held this role for over five years until the academy relieved him from his role as they sought to step away from the president-principal model that had been in place for many years. Fedko's term as president officially ended on November 1, 2016.

References

Sports commentators Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Sportspeople from Lawton, Oklahoma People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Orange County, California University of Southern California alumni Sportspeople from Pittsburgh American people of Ukrainian descent {{US-journalist-20thC-stub