Stephen A. Smith is a sportswriter and media personality.
Stephen attended Winston-Salem State University on a basketball scholarship and immediately interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after graduation. Since 1994, he has had a position as a writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was initially a general sportswriter for the Inquirer before he gained positions as their reporter for the Philadelphia 76ers, as their NBA columnist, and eventually, as a general sports columnist. In addition, he has served as a NBA analyst for ESPN since October, 2003. He has also been a judge on the ESPN reality series Dream Job, and was a frequent guest (and guest host) on the network's show Pardon The Interruption and 1st and 10. His harsh and loud tone expressed during debates has earned him the nickname "Screamin' A. Smith" by several of his colleagues.
Prior to his job with the Inquirer, Smith has had positions with the Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News and Record and the New York Daily News.
On April 11, 2005, Smith became the host of a weekday Noon-2:00 p.m. radio show on WEPN in New York City with his "right hand man BT, Brandon Tierney." In August 2005, he began hosting a daily hour-long show on ESPN2 called Quite Frankly. Smith has stated that he hopes his show will be "a cross between Bill O'Reilly and Larry King." Initially airing weeknights at 6:30 PM, it was moved in January 2006 to 11 PM, with encore airings most days at 2 PM. Smith hopes the time slot change will increase his ratings, though the chances are unlikely. His show Quite Frankly had received a .1 household rating prior to its change in time. Smith himself has admitted that the chances are slim his show will see a second anniversary.[1] Smith has continued to complain about the support his show has received from ESPN - a complaint that ESPN's ombudsman George Solomon has characterized as "whiny" [2]. Smith is constantly criticized on Deadspin, a sports blog, and is up for their "Hall of Fame."