Chris Connelly (born 1957) is an American sports and entertainment reporter who currently works for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

as a contributor to its '' E:60'' newsmagazine. He was also the interim editor-in-chief of Grantland.com, replacing

Bill Simmons William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former Sports journalism, sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website ''The Ringer (website), The Ringer ...

, before ESPN shuttered the site in October 2015. Connelly joined ESPN in 2001 to host the daily interview program ''Unscripted with Chris Connelly'', designed to be a more contemporary version of the long-running ''

Up Close ''Up Close'' is an American sports interview show that has aired on ESPN+ since 2021 and had aired on ESPN from 1981–2001. History Early years The program debuted in 1981 on USA Network and was created by the advertising agency Foote, Cone an ...

'' interview show which previously occupied the 5PM ET timeslot. The show, which premiered on the same day as ''

Pardon the Interruption ''Pardon the Interruption'' (abbreviated ''PTI'') is an American sports talk television show that airs weekdays on various ESPN TV channels. It is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, who discuss, and frequently argue over, the top stor ...

'', lasted only a few months before being replaced by an early ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of American cable and satellite television network ESPN. The show covers various sports teams and athletes from around the world and o ...

'' and eventually ''

Around the Horn ''Around the Horn'' (''ATH'') is an American sports roundtable discussion show, conducted in the style of a panel game, produced by ESPN. The show premiered on November 4, 2002, as a replacement for ''Unscripted with Chris Connelly'', and has ...

''. Since the cancellation of ''Unscripted'', Connelly has reported and narrated the long-form human interest reports that air on ''

'' on weekends. Most notably, he annually does a one-week series called "My Wish" involving athletes fulfilling kids'

Make a Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headquar ...

wishes. Connelly also helped ABC and ESPN cover the

Scripps National Spelling Bee The Scripps National Spelling Bee (formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and commonly called the National Spelling Bee) is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scri ...

in 2006; he conducted interviews with finalists who had just been eliminated. Before joining ESPN, Connelly worked for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as a music critic. During the 1980s he also served as Special Music Correspondent for ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

'', which involved interviewing the music stars of the day. Next Connelly spent thirteen years at

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

(1988–2001). He hosted the pre-shows for the

MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editio ...

and prior to that, ''The Big Picture'', a weekly show with features and movie reviews. He was also an editor and reporter for ''

Premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fi ...

'' magazine, eventually becoming editor-in-chief. After six months however, Connelly resigned in a dispute over journalistic integrity after the owner of the magazine reportedly asked that he quash a story that unfavorably portrayed a business associate. From 2000 to 2007 he was part of the ensemble of hosts for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

preshow. All of these assignments were for ABC.

References

External links

* American film critics American television reporters and correspondents Living people American television talk show hosts American sports announcers ABC News personalities 1957 births MTV people {{US-tv-journalist-stub