Many people are told that the road to success is to stick to the conventional, to follow the beaten path. But this was not true of Kirk Minihane, the American radio personality and presenter from Massachusetts. Kirk’s outspoken and controversial personality brought him success as a broadcaster and columnist.
Kirk Minihane Biography
Kirk Minihane was born on October 31, 1974, in Winchester, Massachusetts, the son of Patricia Doucet and Peter Minihane. Kirk is one of three boys in the couple. They all grew up together in Massachusetts.
He lost his mother to cancer on June 22, 2017. She had been suffering from pancreatic cancer for over a year. In memory of her, donations were made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
This radio personality attended Winchester High School and played basketball in high school. In 1998 he graduated from Fordham University. Over the years, Kirk worked on the radio and made a name for himself as an outspoken and regularly controversial personality. In 2009, he joined the WEEI team at Entercom Sports, where he temped for a number of their programs and hosted their weekend shows. After working for the station for several years and being apparently impressed by his work, he started working as a weekly columnist for the station’s website.
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In February 2013, Dennis & Callahan, one of radio’s biggest sports broadcasters, gradually lost its dominance as ratings plummeted following the launch of CBS Radio Sports Talk Affiliate in 2009. It became clear that it needed to do something to return to its place at the top of the sports radio. Then Kirk Minihane joined in.
Kirk Minihane joined Dennis & Callahan and became the third presenter, and soon after it became clear that Kirk was the boost they needed. In his first periods on the show, the moment of Kirk’s signature came. Kirk and Callahan interviewed a Boston Globe author who had just written a paper on their publication WEEI. The two presenters beat the reporter for 20 minutes, lambing him for bad sources and not announcing that he was once an intern at the station. It was a moment of breaking through the fourth wall that made Minihane famous.
Minihane speaks of this encounter as the moment when he became much more confident and comfortable challenging things. It is this personality and cheekiness that has earned him several suspensions throughout his career, including a famous incident in which he called Fox sportscaster Erin Andrews a “cowardly b****” in July 2014. This was a moment that sparked outrage across the country, with Fox even going so far as to pull advertising from the radio’s parent company, Entercom.
Kirk’s personality, however, had the desired effect on Dennis & Callahan, and the show’s ratings rose to just above those of its nearest rival. During the three years that Minihane was in the program, the number of shows almost doubled.
Minihane firmly believes in the responsibility of entertaining his listeners and often defers gossip during his broadcasts. While most sports talk radio presenters would spend their time breaking up the game from the night before, Minihane prefers to rage against his colleagues in the Boston sports media, calling writers “sycophants” and mocking other presenters. The popularity of his previous shows suggests that he is offering something unique to his listeners.
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Kirk Minihane Salary
Kirk’s salary at WEEI is not currently known to the public, but it is believed that he will sign a multi-year contract with the radio in 2014. Since then, he has also been given his own show and podcast, so it would not be a surprise if he gets a jolt in his contract.
His Wife, Father, and Family
When he’s not being an intentional a**hole on the radio, Kirk goes home to his wife Christine and their two children – a daughter named Cate and a son named Harrison.
Kirk Minihane has lost both his parents. His father died shortly before his mother on May 4, 2017, a loss that severely affected Kirk’s mental health. He recently left his popular radio program Kirk and Callahan to work on his mental health problems.
Other Facts about Kirk Minihane
1. He wanted to become a screenwriter before he switched to sports journalism. After his efforts to become a screenwriter in Hollywood, he returned to Boston to write for WEEI.com, which was relaunched in 2008.
2. Kirk struggles with depression. The unconventional sports journalist is open about his struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts. It is a struggle in which he has taken a break from his show to deal with his mental health.
