Barry Shanley

Just a kind, friendly, honest, yet authoritative voice. I don't do voices.

1966-1972 While in college worked at a local radio station in my hometown of South Haven, Michigan, doing rock and roll, (as a spoof on myself my on-air name was Manley Shanley). Hosted hundreds of dances during those years also. Eventually I shifted to news and sports. Also during those years I went to colleges, including two terms in Oxford, England. After getting my degree in Communications I got my first television job in Fort Myers, Florida. A few months later I was offered a bigger on-air job at a station in Panama City, Florida, where after a year I was named News Director and Anchor. Two years later I came home to Michigan and a much bigger station in Grand Rapids, where in a couple of years I was made the main anchor. Ten years later a competing station hired my boss, and me, and I became the main anchor there for ten years. Besides anchoring, because of my voice and "image' I also did feature reporting that was positive. "Barry's Backroads", "Positively Michigan", and fun, spoof pieces where I would show people what they could do as a family on weekends. Those features were called "Send Shanley", and usually they were "reporter-involvement" stories where I would pretend to be doing the activity but never very well. When I was going through a divorce, and with physical custody of my 4 children, I couldn't live that lifestyle of mostly second-shift work anymore. And wanted to be with my children. Don't know if this is exactly what you wanted. It doesn't let you hear my voice, but gives you an understanding perhaps of the kind of work I did, largely because of my voice and personality. People ALWAYS said they watched because I made them feel the world was not coming to an end that day at least. Thanks for any consideration. Barry Shanley 269-501-2676 bgshanley@comcast.net 1965 Graduated from South Haven's L.C.Mohr High School South Haven, Michigan Between my junior and senior high school years, I was one of 30 American students selected for the Northwestern University High School Institute in Speech. 1966-1968 Hope College, Holland, MI. While there worked at my hometown's radio station, first doing on air disc jockey work, commercials, promos, m.c. work at hundreds of dances. Later news and sports. 1968-1971 Shimer College, Mt. Carroll, Illinois, (now in Chicago). Summer 1969 chosen as U.S. Collegiate representative to the United Nations International Student Leadership Conference. 1969-1970 selected as one of 27 U.S. students for a special study in Oxford, England. 1971-1972 Western Michigan University to get a Communications Degree 1972- 3 months as t.v. reporter at WBBH-TV Fort Myers, Florida. 1972-1975 Reporter, then News Director and Main Anchor at what is now WMBB-TV, Panama City, Florida. 1976-1986 Reporter, then main anchor at WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids, MI. 1986-1997 Main anchor, feature reporter, WWMT-TV, Kalamazoo, MI. 1997-present Opinion Columnist, Kalamazoo Gazette. None! Please let me know if there is work I can do, at first, by going to a studio, or some other means. THEN, if it's working-out, I could buy what you think I should have based on the work I am getting. Also, I am willing to join a union if it would be helpful to more clients and to me. While in radio, and in the earlier days of television, I did use equipment myself, from recording equipment to cameras, to editing equipment, (film and video.) And really enjoyed it. First, I always worked VERY well with photo journalists, editors and others out of mutual respect. The projects were always much better and more enjoyable because of it. I've been fortunate to have held other positions, like school board member, high school golf coach, a member of my state's high school athletic golf board, etc. Over the years I've given hundreds of speeches and made countless appearances. Again, and I think largely because of my voice and my easy-going or more casual personality, market research showed me as the most trusted and popular in the market. One year the research company pointed-out there was not one negative response to me in their extensive survey. Creativity and humor helped me to have this image. Plus, I really cared about the people I was serving in the area where I grew-up.