Pittsburgh Radio: N/T Reporter Launching 93.7 The Fan Show

Shelby Cassesse

Sports are never far from Shelby Cassesse’s mind, as evidenced by her tweets.

One minute, she’s on Twitter talking about her one-on-one interview with Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto that she earned through her hard work as a N/T KDKA 1020 AM reporter. The next, she’s sharing in Pittsburgh’s sorrow over the Penguins losing their first-round playoff series to the New York Islanders, or discussing the latest updates on Robert Morris University getting rid of its men’s and women’s hockey programs.

The Post-Gazette reports Cassesse grew up playing sports and loving local teams, and her reporting career has kept her close to the action since she graduated from Duquesne University six years ago. She’ll soon get to combine those two passions in the form of her new show on KDKA-FM 93.7 The Fan, premiering Sunday at 7 a.m.

“When the opportunity was presented to me, it was an instant, ‘Well, yeah, of course I’m going to do this!’” Cassesse told the Post-Gazette. “It’s one of the greatest professional opportunities I’ve been given. It’s something I never anticipated doing in my career because I always saw myself as a reporter. It’s truly incredible, and I’m beyond thrilled to be doing it.”

“It’s definitely not lost on me that few women have had this opportunity, especially here in Pittsburgh,” Cassesse said. “I don’t want that to be what people see me as. I’m happy to take on that title, and I’m glad to celebrate it, too, because it needs to be celebrated.

“Once the mic goes on Sunday morning, I’m a sports talk show host, not a female sports talk show host. I’m just another one of the many hosts this station has.

“I do hope that girls going through college now that may want to do this can look to me as a role model and as someone who doesn’t dwell on being a female sports talk show host.”

After graduating from Duquesne with a journalism degree in 2015, she spent two years as a sports anchor and reporter for WDTV in Bridgeport, W.Va. Upon returning to Pittsburgh, she began doing news and traffic on KDKA Radio and sports updates for The Fan. In 2019, she got the chance to be a freelance news reporter for KDKA-TV and in February was made a full-time reporter for KDKA Radio as the replacement for Joe DeStio.

“She’s the right person at the right time,” said Michael Spacciapolli, senior vice president and market manager for Audacy Pittsburgh, which owns 93.7 The Fan. “She’ll be incredibly prepared for this opportunity. The listeners and the entire city of Pittsburgh are going to love what Shelby will offer up.”