#MediaMonday – Jimmy Rhoades
Today’s #MediaMonday comes to us from Jimmy Rhoades, co-host of The List.
How did you get your start in the media? What is your story?
I booked my first national hosting gig while I was still in college on a fluke audition. At the time I had just started doing stand-up comedy, and eventually dropped out of school to tell jokes full time, while keeping a foot in broadcasting along the way. I’ve lived variously in Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, and now Phoenix. My background in stand-up informs the way I work on camera. I like to find the humor in topics, especially topics that aren’t obviously funny.
Tell us about your show and types of story pitches you want?
The List is a multi-market syndicated show, so we want to make sure our content is relevant to a national audience. Our goal is to make our viewers’ lives easier, more convenient, less stressful, more productive… just better. And we want to present it with a sense of play. You can Google anything, so we need to give folks a reason to get the info from us.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Royal Oak, Mich., which is an “inner-ring” suburb of Detroit. It was mostly boarded up when I was growing up there, but now it’s become one of the hot ‘burbs in the area. I’m trying not to take it personally.
Favorite type of music?
Every genre has great music, and I enjoy it all. But when it comes to what I belt out in the shower, it’s gotta be the lounge-act take on the old American standards. My bathroom has heard a lot of poorly sung Rat Pack covers.
Favorite color?
Green. And thanks to virtual sets, I can never wear it!
Favorite TV shows or movies?
Based on the high-concept alone — giant robots fighting giant monsters — Pacific Rim is the single-greatest achievement in the history of American Cinema. Fight me.
Favorite local restaurants or other haunts?
I taught my kids to always maintain a mental map of the Taco Bells in your area. You should always be able to instinctively steer yourself to a Taco Bell without having to Google Map it. It’s a foundational urban survival skill. You also need to have a go-to independently-owned coffee shop (Copper Star) and one or two go-to local breweries (Phoenix Beer Co., Greenwood Brewing). I also love hole-in-the-wall ethnic food, too many to list. Okay, here are a couple: Haji-Baba in Tempe, Khải Hoàn has some great pho (in the same strip mall!), Udupi vegetarian Indian cuisine, First Cup Ethiopian Cafe on 19th Ave… I could go on, but the bottom line is support the little mom-and-pops in the strip malls. You’ll discover some truly fabulous food.
Three things readers would be surprised to know about you?
My curse in life is that I love animals but I’m allergic to many of them. I’m a die-hard fan of the Detroit Lions. (Okay, that’s two curses.) And I never achieved my target height of 6’4″, which is the ideal height for an American man.
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