About the Author
John Kiesewetter
For more than three decades, John Kiesewetter has been the Cincinnati authority on TV, broadcasting and media. His stories, columns and blogs have covered national and local broadcasting breaking news and trends; chronicled local TV/radio personalities and the stars who grew up here (George Clooney, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson, to name three); and explored Cincinnati’s rich broadcasting history.
As the Cincinnati Enquirer's TV/radio columnist, "TV Kiese" traveled to Los Angeles three dozen times to interview TV's biggest stars: Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Harmon, Jennifer Garner, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Will Ferrell, Tiny Fey, David Letterman, Bob Newhart, Alex Trebek, Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Gregory Peck, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Roy Rogers and Fred Rogers.
John always tried to catch TV show tapings on his trips, which enabled him to write about the making of "Friends," "Seinfeld," "ER," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Home Improvement," "NYPD Blue," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Daily Show," "The New WKRP in Cincinnati," David Letterman's "Late Show," "Tonight" shows hosted by Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, "Oprah," "Larry King Live" and his most memorable set visit, a day at "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."
When Hollywood productions came to Cincinnati, John covered filming of George Clooney’s “The Ides of March," Cate Blanchett’s "Carol," Mariah Carey's "A Christmas Melody" and director Ron Howard's "Hillbilly Elegy" filmed in Middletown, Ohio, his hometown.
But his favorite trips were to the Reds radio booth at Riverfront Stadium and Great American Ball Park to watch announcers Joe Nuxhall and Marty Brennaman. A sports lover, John also reported from the Super Bowl XXIII in Miami in 1989 and the 1990 World Series, and interviewed Cris Collinsworth, Al Michaels, John Madden, Dan Patrick, Pete Rose, Vin Scully, Red Barber, Bob Costas and Bob Trumpy. (He’s pictured with his favorite item in the Reds Hall of Fame, Nuxhall’s 1960’s Wiedemann Beer poster.)
John grew up in Middletown, Ohio, about 35 miles north of Cincinnati, as a huge Cincinnati Reds fan. His favorite player was fellow lefthander Joe Nuxhall, a Reds pitcher from just down the road in Hamilton, Ohio. While attending Ohio University, John began his journalism career as summer newsroom intern at the Middletown Journal.
After graduating from OU in June 1975, he joined the Cincinnati Enquirer as a summer intern and managed to parlay that into a 40-year-career as a reporter, editor and columnist. Before taking over the TV beat in 1985, he was the county government reporter and helped cover the 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire aftermath; the suburban and regional news editor overseeing reporters in seven counties and the Columbus statehouse bureau; and the features editor supervising a 25-person staff producing the daily Tempo section plus weekly Food, Weekend, Arts & Entertainment sections and local Sunday magazine.
John volunteered to return to writing in 1985 when his TV critic quit. The job sounded like a lot of fun – and it was! When the TV beat was eliminated in 2014, John left the paper to continue his media coverage in 2015 for Cincinnati Public Radio's NPR affiliate, WVXU-FM and wvxu.org. Visit his Media Beat blog at WVXU.
His stories have been honored by the Cincinnati and Ohio Society of Professional Journalists and Gannett. John was named the Distinguished Catholic Communicator of the Year by the Cincinnati Salesian Guild in 2000. He's also a former Television Critics Association board member.
John lives in Fairfield, Ohio, with his wife, Sue, a freelance reporter for the Enquirer. They have three adult sons.
That's my story!
--Kiese