# Michael Wilbon
**Michael Wilbon** (born 1958 in Chicago) is an American sports journalist who spent three decades at *The Washington Post* as a reporter and columnist and has co-hosted ESPN's *Pardon the Interruption* with [Tony Kornheiser](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-kornheiser) since the show's debut on October 22, 2001.[1](https://povichcenter.umd.edu/still-no-cheering-press-box/chapter/Michael-Wilbon/intro.html) • [2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) He is also an NBA studio analyst for ESPN and ABC.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958, Chicago (South Side)[1](https://povichcenter.umd.edu/still-no-cheering-press-box/chapter/Michael-Wilbon/intro.html) |
| Education | Saint Ignatius College Prep (1976); journalism degree, Northwestern University Medill School, 1980[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) |
| *Washington Post* | Summer intern in 1979, sports reporter from 1980, full-time columnist 1990–2010; left in December 2010 after 31 years[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) |
| *Pardon the Interruption* | Co-host with Kornheiser since the debut on October 22, 2001; more than 5,500 episodes aired[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) • [3](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/pardon-the-interruption-marks-25-years-of-must-see-sports-debate-with-special-anniversary-celebration-on-espn/) |
| Major awards | NABJ Lifetime Achievement Award (2009); Fourth Estate Award with Kornheiser (2017); Curt Gowdy Media Award, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2020); NSMA Hall of Fame (2020)[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) |
| Other roles | NBA studio analyst for ESPN and ABC; featured columnist for ESPN.com and ESPNChicago.com; professor of practice at Medill[4](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/michael-wilbon-joins-espn-com-espnchicago-com-as-featured-columnist/) • [5](https://www.medill.northwestern.edu/directory/faculty/michael-wilbon.html) |
## Early life and education
Wilbon was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and attended Saint Ignatius College Prep, graduating in 1976.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) At Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, he wrote for *The Daily Northwestern* and secured internships, graduating with a journalism degree in 1980.[6](https://archive.peninsulapress.com/2014/04/29/michael-wilbon-espn/) He later described Medill's requirement that students balance journalism courses with general studies as deliberate training, because "journalists need something to write about."[7](https://povichcenter.umd.edu/still-no-cheering-press-box/chapter/Michael-Wilbon/index.html)
## The Washington Post
Wilbon worked as a summer intern at *The Washington Post* in 1979 and joined the paper as a sports reporter in 1980 after graduating from Northwestern.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) At the Post he covered college sports, [Major League Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-baseball), the [National Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-football-league), and the [National Basketball Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-basketball-association) before becoming a full-time columnist in the winter of 1990; the column was known for treating the culture and social impact of sports as much as the action itself.[1](https://povichcenter.umd.edu/still-no-cheering-press-box/chapter/Michael-Wilbon/intro.html) In his own farewell column, he dated his first column to more than twenty years before December 2010 and described having walked in the door as a summer intern 31½ years earlier.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2010/12/07/parting-sweet-and-sorrowful/733240fa-01a0-11e0-8a87-433f27c022f8/)
During his newspaper years he built a résumé of major-event coverage: in his career he has covered 10 Summer and Winter Olympics, along with nearly every Final Four, NBA Finals, and [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl).[1](https://povichcenter.umd.edu/still-no-cheering-press-box/chapter/Michael-Wilbon/intro.html) In 1982, as a 24-year-old college-basketball reporter, he ran from the Post newsroom to the [Potomac River](https://www.edgepedia.org/potomac-river) to report on the rescue efforts after the Air Florida crash into the 14th Street Bridge; he never received a byline on the story.[9](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/02/washington-post-sports-section-cut/685888/)
## Pardon the Interruption
*Pardon the Interruption* (PTI) debuted on ESPN on October 22, 2001, built around the debate and verbal sparring Wilbon and Kornheiser had engaged in for years in the Post newsroom.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) The 30-minute weekday show's rapid-fire debate structure, running clock, and topic ticker became the template the two hosts had rehearsed in the newspaper's corridors, where a *Sports Illustrated* writer described them as debating, ribbing, needling, and one-upping each other.[10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/wilbon-michael) The show airs at 5:30 p.m. ET and is produced from the ABC News bureau in Washington, D.C.[3](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/pardon-the-interruption-marks-25-years-of-must-see-sports-debate-with-special-anniversary-celebration-on-espn/)
The show's endurance is measurable. PTI has earned Sports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Daily Studio Show in 2009, 2016, and 2017 according to ESPN's biography page, although a separate ESPN press release lists the three awards as 2009, 2016, and 2019.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) • [11](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/tony-kornheiser-and-michael-wilbon-sign-new-multi-year-extensions-with-espn-2/) In September 2025, Wilbon and Kornheiser signed new multi-year ESPN extensions that keep both hosting the show beyond its 25th anniversary in fall 2026, which ESPN marked with back-to-back anniversary episodes on October 22, 2026, after more than 5,500 episodes.[11](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/tony-kornheiser-and-michael-wilbon-sign-new-multi-year-extensions-with-espn-2/) • [3](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/pardon-the-interruption-marks-25-years-of-must-see-sports-debate-with-special-anniversary-celebration-on-espn/) ESPN reported that in 2026 PTI was averaging 718,000 viewers, its most-viewed January-to-September block since 2018, and that it remains the network's most-watched daily studio show.[3](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/pardon-the-interruption-marks-25-years-of-must-see-sports-debate-with-special-anniversary-celebration-on-espn/)
## Television work and books
Before PTI, Wilbon appeared in the 1990s and 2000s as a panelist on ESPN's Sunday morning roundtable *The Sports Reporters*, and for more than a decade he appeared on WRC-TV's "Redskins Report" and "Full Court Press" with the Washington broadcaster [George Michael](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-michael).[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) He eventually became a host on ABC's *NBA Countdown*, the pre-game show for ABC's NBA telecasts.[1](https://povichcenter.umd.edu/still-no-cheering-press-box/chapter/Michael-Wilbon/intro.html)
He has also worked as an editor and author of sports books. During his Post years he edited two books with Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, *I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It* and *Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man*, both of which made the New York Times best-seller list.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) In 2023 he worked with NBA player [Chris Paul](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-paul) to edit Paul's New York Times best-selling book, *Sixty-One: Life Lessons from Papa, On and Off the Court*.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/)
## Awards and academic role
Wilbon's honors span print and broadcast journalism. The [National Association of Black Journalists](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-association-of-black-journalists) gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009, and in 2017 he and Kornheiser received the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) In 2001 the [Society of Professional Journalists](https://www.edgepedia.org/society-of-professional-journalists) (Sigma Delta Chi) recognized him as the top sports columnist in America.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) In 2018 he received the Sam Lacy-Wendell Smith Award from the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at the University of Maryland for contributions to racial and gender equality in sports journalism.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) He received the Curt Gowdy Media Award for print journalism, which brought him induction into the [Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/naismith-memorial-basketball-hall-of-fame) in 2020, and that year he was also chosen for the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/) He and Kornheiser are scheduled to receive Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in early 2027.[2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/)
He has also returned to his alma mater as a teacher: Wilbon is a professor of practice at Medill and serves on the Northwestern University Board of Trustees and the Medill Board of Advisors.[5](https://www.medill.northwestern.edu/directory/faculty/michael-wilbon.html) • [2](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/)
## References
1. [About Michael Wilbon, Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, University of Maryland](https://povichcenter.umd.edu/still-no-cheering-press-box/chapter/Michael-Wilbon/intro.html)
2. [Michael Wilbon bio, ESPN Press Room](https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wilbon_michael/)
3. ['Pardon the Interruption' marks 25 years of must-see sports debate, ESPN Press Room (October 15, 2026)](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/pardon-the-interruption-marks-25-years-of-must-see-sports-debate-with-special-anniversary-celebration-on-espn/)
4. [Michael Wilbon Joins ESPN.com, ESPNChicago.com as Featured Columnist, ESPN Press Room](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/michael-wilbon-joins-espn-com-espnchicago-com-as-featured-columnist/)
5. [Michael Wilbon, Medill, Northwestern University](https://www.medill.northwestern.edu/directory/faculty/michael-wilbon.html)
6. [ESPN's Michael Wilbon on childhood, sports and 'Pardon the Interruption', Peninsula Press](https://archive.peninsulapress.com/2014/04/29/michael-wilbon-espn/)
7. [Still No Cheering in the Press Box: Michael Wilbon interview, Povich Center](https://povichcenter.umd.edu/still-no-cheering-press-box/chapter/Michael-Wilbon/index.html)
8. [Michael Wilbon, "Parting, sweet and sorrowful", The Washington Post (December 6, 2010)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2010/12/07/parting-sweet-and-sorrowful/733240fa-01a0-11e0-8a87-433f27c022f8/)
9. [You Can't Kill Swagger, The Atlantic (February 2026)](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/02/washington-post-sports-section-cut/685888/)
10. [Wilbon, Michael, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/wilbon-michael)
11. [Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon Sign New Multi-Year Extensions with ESPN, ESPN Press Room (September 9, 2025)](https://espnpressroom.com/press-release/tony-kornheiser-and-michael-wilbon-sign-new-multi-year-extensions-with-espn-2/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Broadcasters as people › Sports announcers and team broadcasters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license