John Leisher

It’s exciting and it’s fun. And that, says John, is why he loves being a news anchor.

There’s the excitement of bringing WCBS listeners the news as it happens. And there’s the fun of working with the best journalists in the greatest city in the world.

John joined WCBS on July 4th, 2000. He says he had a lot to celebrate: the realization of a dream to work for the flagship station of the CBS Radio Network, and a career that took him to CBS radio affiliates in all four corners of the country.

That career began in Boston, following graduation from Emerson College. A desire to see the country took John to Miami, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

While at WINZ in Miami, John reported for the CBS Radio Network on Hurricane David, Eastern Airlines’ fight for survival, and the desperate attempt of Cubans and Haitians to flee their homelands for freedom and prosperity in America. John got a first-hand look at the crushing poverty in Haiti, while covering a series of meetings there between Florida officials and dictator “Baby Doc” Duvalier.

John moved to KFWB in Los Angeles, in 1984, just in time to cover the summer Olympics. Other big stories John worked on, in the city of angels, include the Rodney King police brutality case and the resulting riots, the Northridge earthquake and the O.J. Simpson case.

John has won numerous awards, including an Edward R. Murrow for spot news coverage.

John has also worked in television news, public relations and teaching. But he says nothing beats the immediacy and intimacy of radio. He hopes it’s exciting and fun for you, too.