Jim Vicevich

Jim Vicevich

Jim Vicevich is a radio talk show host based in Connecticut, USA. His show "Sound Off Connecticut" deals with local, as well as national topics ranging from politics, economics and social issues, to movies and music. Vicevich, a self-labeled social libertarian and political conservative, often frames his commentary between bumper-music from upstart country music performers.

Jim's show, which is usually produced by Michael "Mikey C" Costantinou, also invites phone calls from listeners from throughout the Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York areas to discuss the topics of the day. Additionally, "Sound Off Connecticut" has a special episode each Friday called "Free-For-All Friday" where listeners are invited to phone in and discuss almost any topic. Jim Vicevich holds many strong opinions, but his willingness to hear out and consider almost any reasonably stated viewpoint has earned the show a loyal following of repeat callers including Ferris, Ron from Canton, Tim from Manchester, Rick from West Hartford, Annoying Chris, and many more.

Starting in 2005, WTIC News/Talk 1080, the radio station which broadcasts "Sound Off Connecticut" started offering a free internet stream of its programing from its website, www.wtic.com. This feature has started to broaden Jim Vicevich's listening base, and he will occasionally receive calls from listeners in Tennessee and Florida.

On any given weekday, a significant portion of "Sound Off Connecticut" is devoted to analyzing soundbites from political figures and news programs in an attempt to demonstrate the existence of a vast, shadowy, and incredibly circuitous liberal media conspiracy to carefully manipulates the flow of information to make American conservatives appear foolish. MSNBC host Chris Matthews, NBC newswoman Katie Couric, Massachusetts senator John Kerry, and printed articles from The New York Times and The Hartford Courant are all popular subjects for Jim's on-air analysis, though the alleged conspiracy is so far-reaching that Jim has had to tackle clips from sources as disparate as Mississippi senator Trent Lott and late-night comedian Bill Maher.

Prior to earning a living by deconstructing and criticizing the mainstream media, Jim Vicevich spent nearly thirty years earning a living working for that very establishment. After graduating with an economics degree from Bucknell University in 1974 and earning his master's degree from Boston University in 1977, Jim started his broadcast career at WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Virginia where his comprehensive coverage of the state's economy earned him the Associated Press Douglas Southall Freeman Award for outstanding journalism. In 1980, Jim moved to Connecticut to become the business editor for WFSB-TV, the local CBS affiliate, and later for NBC affiliate WVIT-TV. He went on to join CPTV in 1996 as a producer for an hour-long news magazine show entitled "Connecticut Journal" which covered state businesses and topics of personal finance, and took over as the anchor of the show in 1999. Over the years, Jim's journalism earned him a total of six Emmy nominations.

Jim Vicevich also founded Vicevich Interactive, a small business based in Simsbury, Connecticut which specialized in producing multimedia content on VHS, CD-ROM, and the internet via Macromedia Shockwave and Macromedia Flash content. His products have earned him four national Telly awards for excellence in corporate video.

Today, in addition to the responsibilities of his show "Sound Off Connecticut," Jim works full-time as a financial advisor for The Advest Group, a consulting firm based in Hartford, Connecticut where he helps run their "Financial Education Solutions" program.

Other WTIC 1080 radio personalities sometimes refer to Jim as "Buddy Vicevich," following a nickname coined for him on July 1st, 2003 by Colin McEnroe, a fellow WTIC talkshow host. After the passing of veteran stage and screen actor Buddy Hackett the preceding day, Colin opined to his cohost Bruce Stevens that there was a dearth of people called "Buddy" and suggested that WTIC newcommer Jim Vicevich take up the mantle. The nickname has stuck ever since, and any mention by WTIC 1080 staff or callers of "Buddy" or "the Buddy Show" can be assumed to refer to Jim Vicevich.