141: Al Wallace with Max Utsler


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Dec 08 2023 27 mins  

This is episode 141 of the C-10 Podcast and as we do occasionally, we're turning over the hosting to Al Wallace, a longtime sportscaster here in Kansas City — and now one of the mentors in the C-10 Mentoring & Leadership program. This week, Al interviews Max Utsler, who taught journalism at both the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas, and was instrumental in helping to develop the C-10 program.

If you’ve listened to many of the previous 140 episodes, you’ve heard Max a time or two. We even did an interview with Max during the early days of this podcast, episode 16 to be exact, in August of 2020. But this week you’ll hear a little different side of Max as he’s interviewed by one of his longtime friends, Al Wallace.

A little about Max, though.

In 2020, Utsler received broadcast journalism education’s highest honor, the Edward L. Bliss Award. Before retiring, he was also recognized at KU as the top mentor among his peers.

Prior to joining the faculty at KU, Utsler served as assistant news director at KOMU-TV (NBC) and Associate Professor for the School of Journalism at Missouri. He joined the KU faculty in 1984 and served in both teaching and administrative positions. After serving as assistant news director at KSDK-TV (NBC) in St. Louis, he was a reporter, producer, and freelance writer with major media outlets like MLB.com, MLB-TV, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, and ESPN. He spent half a year at KPNX-TV covering sports in Phoenix, Arizona.

Utsler, who's from a farm community in central Illinois, graduated from Knox College before starting his career as a junior high English teacher in Minnesota.

This interview with Max and Al Wallace was recorded in front of the C-10 students and mentors in November.

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