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Recovery in the News
Sports voice also broadcasts on substance abuse
Bill Virgin
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
April 23, 2008
'The bright side is recovery,' Neil Scott says
You probably know the name and voice of Neil Scott from his sports news updates on KJR-AM/950, as well as in-game reports and postgame interviews on the Mariners, Seahawks and Sonics for such national networks as ESPN, Fox and Sirius.
In sports terms, he says, "I'm the long guy out of the bullpen."
But that's only a part of his broadcasting resume. Scott is also producer and host of " Recovery Coast to Coast," a two-hour, five-nights-a-week show that airs at 10 p.m. on KHHO- AM/850, as well as through streaming audio on its Web site at recoverycoasttocoast.org.
The show chronicles the lives, news and stories of those in alcohol and drug addiction, treatment, recovery and research (it also deals with such topics as eating disorders and gambling and sex addiction). The first hour features interviews with celebrities and newsmakers (guests have included Pat Summerall, Robin Williams and Betty Ford), authors and prevention and treatment professionals. The second hour is devoted to an interview with someone who has been in recovery continuously for at least a year.
Scott's interest in the subject grew out of his broadcasting career, which began as a rock-radio DJ in Rhode Island. He later moved to California and into TV, anchoring a newscast in Bakersfield.
It was while researching a story on the topic that Scott "really became fascinated" with addiction and recovery. Scott says both his parents died from alcohol-related health issues. "Very few people in this country are not affected," either directly or through family members, by substance abuse and addiction.
That interest led in turn to jobs with organizations on alcohol and drug use, which included editing publications and trying to raise awareness of the subject.
"People were missing a key aspect of this disease," he says. "The bright side is recovery."
To tell that part of the story, Scott, who had moved to Seattle in the mid-1970s, began a nightly local-radio show called "Straight Talk" in the 1980s.
More recently, Scott was approached about reprising that show, which led to the launching of " Recovery Coast to Coast" in October 2005 on KLFE-AM before moving to KHHO-AM. It's now approaching its 700th show. Scott also has another business of handling master-of-ceremonies duties at auctions.
The program's official sponsor is the Seattle-based Alliance for Recovery. It's a commercial show, and Scott would love to have more sponsors. But because of the social stigma of alcoholism, he adds, "it's been tough raising money." Whereas those in recovery talk about making it one day at a time, "we talk about staying on the air one show at a time."
He'd also like to have wider distribution for the program. "It would immediately bring to the table thousands of people," he says. But Scott, who says syndication has been difficult, has to fight the notion that the topic is too narrow or too dull.
"It's not the dull, boring Sunday morning public-affairs program people pigeonhole it as," he says. Between those who have been, are or should be in treatment and recovery, "there's a huge market out there."