Mike Bianchi

Mike Bianchi
Born	(1960-06-01) June 1, 1960 (age 64)
Occupation	Sports columnist
Nationality	American

Michael A. Bianchi (born c. 1960)^[citation needed] is an American journalist and sports columnist at the Orlando Sentinel.[1] He joined the Sentinel as a columnist in 2000 after working as the lead sports columnist at The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville.[2] Before the Times-Union, Bianchi worked at Florida Today in Cocoa Beach, where he wrote columns and covered athletics at the University of Florida.[3]

In Orlando, he writes about the Orlando Magic, Orlando City Soccer Club, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, University of Central Florida, NASCAR, the NBA, NFL and other sports and events.[1] Bianchi has a weekday morning radio program in Orlando, Open Mike, on WYGM AM 740; the show focuses on sports in Central Florida and Florida.[4][3]

In 2014, Bianchi came under fire for suggesting that the SEC should dump Ole Miss and instead add the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida.[5] Bianchi responded with a YouTube video of himself reading hate mail he received from Mississippi State fans.[6]

Awards

• 2002 First Place in Sports Reporting, for "Mike Bianchi's Road Trip," Orlando Sentinel, Society of Professional Journalists, Green Eyeshade Excellence in Journalism (work produced in 2001).[7]
• 2009 Sunshine States Award for sports commentary, South Florida Society of Professional Journalists.[8]
• 2013 Florida Sportswriter of the Year, National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA).[9]
• 2013 Alumni of Distinction, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.[10]

Books

• Danny Wuerffel's tales from the Gator swamp: reflections of faith and football, co-author with Danny Wuerffel and Steve Spurrier. Sports Publications, 2004.[11]
• Swampmeet: a Gator counting book, co-author with Marisol Novak and Andy Marlette. (Juvenile audience) Sports Publications, LLC, 2004.[12]
• Gator alphabet: ABC, co-author with Marisol Novak and Andy Marlette. (Juvenile audience) Sports Publications, LLC, 2004.[13]

Personal

Bianchi was born in Gainesville, Florida;[14] he received a Bachelors in Journalism from the University of Florida in 1985.[3]

References

1. "Mike Bianchi - Orlando Sentinel". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
2. "Annual Football Kickoff Meeting with Mike Bianchi". Daytona Beach Gator Club. 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
3. "Mike Bianchi". UF College of Journalism and Communications. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
4. "Mike Bianchi Biography". CFL Radio. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
5. Nanni, Ryan (2014-10-07). "Newspaper columnist had unbelievably bad idea". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
6. Bianchi, Mike. "Mike Bianchi Reads his Hate Mail".
7. "SPJ names 2002 Green Eyeshade Winners". www.spj.org. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
8. spjadmin (2009-05-30). "2009 Sunshine State Award Winners Announced". SPJ Florida Pro. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
9. "Vitale, Albom Newest NSSA Hall of Fame Electees; Patrick, King Win National Awards | NSSA". nssafame.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
10. "2013 Alumni of Distinction » College of Journalism and Communications » University of Florida". www.jou.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
11. Wuerffel, Danny; Bianchi, Mike; Spurrier, Steve (2004). Danny Wuerffel's tales from the Gator swamp: reflections of faith and football. Champaign, Ill.: Sports Pub. ISBN 978-1-58261-847-0. OCLC 56547501.
12. Novak, Marisol; Bianchi, Mike; Marlette, Andy (2004). Swampmeet: a Gator counting book. U.S.: Sports Pub. L.L.C. ISBN 978-1-58261-780-0. OCLC 56429704.
13. Novak, Marisol; Bianchi, Mike; Marlette, Andy (2004). Gator alphabet: ABC. U.S.: Sports Pub. L.L.C. ISBN 978-1-58261-403-8. OCLC 56429727.
14. "Swampland:Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel". swampland.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.

External links

• Official bio for Bianchi Archived 2010-07-30 at the Wayback Machine