Lane change: Fox4 reporter Jason Overstreet to become bowling kingpin
05/02/08 02:36 PM
By ED BARK
Fox4 reporter Jason Overstreet, a frequent and valuable contributor to the station's 9 p.m. newscasts, will be taking a unique career path after six years of chasing stories.
Overstreet, 34, has accepted a management position with the United States Bowling Congress, which is relocating its national headquarters from Milwaukee to Arlington, TX this summer.
A competitive bowler as a teenager, Overstreet said in a telephone interview that his biggest achievement was being crowned California's American Bowling Alliance all-events champion in 1988 as a 14-year-old.
He then bowled competitively throughout high school before finding that his college of choice, Northwestern University, didn't have a bowling team. So he's a little rusty at this point, but the sport remains in his blood.
In an earlier email to unclebarky.com, Overstreet said he'll be leaving "with mixed emotions" at the end of the ongoing May sweeps ratings period. Colleague Jeff Crilley, also a regular contributor to Fox4's 9 p.m. news, likewise will be exiting at that time to launch his own public relations firm.
"I have found the environment at Fox4 to be terrific throughout my time here and feel extremely fortunate to have enjoyed such a great situation in local news," Overstreet said.
Still, "the overall economic landscape of television news" prompted him to change careers, he said. Joining the management team of the USBC "is something I cannot let pass me by."
The imminent departures of Overstreet and Crilley, and the station's recent termination of reporter Rebecca Aguilar, will leave Fox4 short-handed and in need of rebuilding its 9 p.m. news reporting staff.
"There are a lot of good people still there," Overstreet said. "I'm sure things will work out."