Know Your Local Media: Adam Clanton, the Jim Rome-Impersonating Sports Guy from Channel 2

Each week, we will profile an esteemed member of the local media and ask them five questions, for better or worse.

Courtesy KPRC

Adam Clanton

With so many local sports personalities hailing from up north -- we have more than our fair share of Syracuse alums -- it's good to know that some of them are still homegrown. Adam Clanton, the weekend sports anchor, reporter and producer, arrived in Houston at the age of eight. He grew up here, went to college at Sam Houston State University right up the road in Huntsville and interned at KILT 610 AM before getting a job at Channel 2.

Clanton is known not only for his local sports coverage but for his uncanny ability to mimic national sports talk host Jim Rome, which he has done numerous times on the radio. His frequent guest spots on sports radio often include at least a few Rome moments and probably at least one Anchorman.

What is your background in the media?
I graduated from SHSU back in May of 2005, and had already been working at Sports Radio 610 doing sports flashes & reporting since December of 2004. I interned that final semester at Local 2 on the weekends, hung around doing freelance work on the assignments desk and overnight producing that summer, and eventually when the sports editor got promoted to producer, I was hired into the department.

I worked my way up from there to producer, reporter and eventually weekend anchor. Not the traditional route, by any means, but I've worked as hard as anyone to get where I am. In addition, I had a second stint at SR 610 from April of 2008 until September of 2009. I was part of the morning show, primarily with Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware, and I wouldn't trade that time for anything. But eventually, I had to choose between one or the other, because the schedule was killing me doing both TV and radio.

How did the Jim Rome impersonation develop?
I've listened to Jim Rome ever since the summer before my senior year at Cypress Creek High School. A co-worker (Adrian Sessum) was listening to it in the car one day and got me hooked. As far as the impression, it's a combination of being able to throw my voice like Jim's, along with hearing his nuances/mannerism/pacing from listening all those years. Still not sure if it's a blessing or a curse.