Broadcaster Sam Alex brings a little ‘country’ back to Chicago

How did a nice Jewish boy from the Chicago suburbs end up a nationally syndicated country music radio and TV personality? For Sam Alex, it was a love of music, a love of the microphone –and a lot of hard work.

Alex, the creator and host of his own country music interview program, The Sam Alex Show, grew up listening to country radio station US99 Chicago, and says he always connected easily to the genre.

“I really related to the lyrics of country music songs, where they do such a great job telling an amazing story in three minutes,” said Alex, who originally is from Hoffman Estates.

That connection extends to the artists themselves. Alex says he has been able to make quick connections with the performers he interviews, both on and off the air. Over his 18-year career thus far, including a 7-year stint in Nashville, Alex has interviewed Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks and countless other country music super-stars. His interviews have been picked up by The Today Show, PEOPLE, and several other outlets.

The origin of Alex’s love of the airwaves began as a teenager. He credits landing the role of the radio DJ in his high school production of Grease , and multiple first place finishes in radio events at speech competitions, for fueling a lifelong pursuit of broadcasting. Throughout college, he “lived and breathed” at the local stations, interning, working part-time and holidays, filling in for the receptionist and, of course, taking out the trash.

“I did anything I could to just really hone my craft,” he said.

Life took Alex on a tour of radio hosting jobs in Bloomington, Ind., Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati before his arrival in Nashville. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he started The Sam Alex Show , and as station owners and managers across the country realized that great country music content didn’t need to only come from Nashville, Sam made plans to move his family back to Chicago, his hometown. While he makes occasional trips to Music City for red carpet events, he enjoys the perks of covering country from the Windy City.

“By being outside of the Nashville bubble, I get way more one-on-one time with artists and better and exclusive content,” he said.

Chicago is also the home of Alex’s passion project, Camp Broadcast, a 4-day master class for high school and college-aged aspiring journalists and broadcasters. “Campers” get to network with and receive mentorship from prominent broadcast journalists (many of whom, like Alex, are also Jewish) and interview major celebrities from the sports, TV, and music industries, walking away with an impressive hosting reel that will help them land their next job or internship.

Alex launched Camp Broadcast in 2020 in response to both summer camps and broadcast internships shutting down due to the pandemic. In addition to many summer radio internships, Alex spent several formative summers as a camper himself at JCC Apachi Day Camp and OSRUI.

As for the advice he gives to aspiring broadcasters, Alex says, “the same advice you’d give anyone in life–treat everyone equally, treat everyone the way you want to be treated.”

Alex recalls one time watching Dolly Parton on a red carpet give every news outlet–no matter how big or small their audience or reputation–60 seconds each. “Treat everyone the same and put in the same amount of preparation, whether you’re interviewing a no-name artist or a Super Bowl MVP,” he said. “It’s kind of simple.”

Camp Broadcast will take place this year in Highland Park from June 13-16.

Learn more about Sam Alex at samalexradio.com and Camp Broadcast at campbroadcast.com .

Steven Chaitman is a Chicago-based freelance writer, Jewish songleader and the Director of Marketing and Programming for Jewish Rock Radio, JKids Radio, and Songleader Boot Camp.