Four-time Emmy winner Jonathan Weaver discusses his journey to ESPN
By Louie Avery

During his youth at Pleasant Grove, Jonathan Weaver used to do his own play-by-play commentary while watching his beloved Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas Rangers. “I quickly knew that I didn’t want to be on-camera but wanted to create the visuals from behind the scenes,” Jonathan said from his ESPN office in Connecticut. “I took PGTV as an elective as soon as I could in high school.”

Jonathan immediately thrived in the class. His natural talent aside, his passion for video and television was palpable.

“I was obviously motivated by my parents [Paula and Bryan Weaver],” Jonathan said. “They always taught me to follow my passions, and the value of hard work. I was also very motivated by Charla Harris, my Pleasant Grove journalism instructor.

“She will be the first to tell you that she isn’t well-versed in the technical side of television, but she allowed me and my classmates to explore and experiment,” he continued. “[For example] Charla let us tear apart our entire production setup and move into the football stadium so we could broadcast the Powderpuff game. That type of trust and freedom were so exciting, and those experiences and repetitions are vital to thriving in this industry.”

After graduating from high school in 2007, Jonathan attended the University of Arkansas, where he continued his broadcasting education. He worked at UATV News for all four years of his studies, climbing the ladder to station manager his senior year. “Four or five days out of the week, I was in the control room making crappy TV for the ten people who just happened to be flipping through our station,” he reminisced. “But I was making true live television.” He also produced, directed, and technical directed sports-related live broadcasts and monthly shows for the university, which were hosted at arkansasrazorbacks.com.

Jonathan’s work in Fayetteville earned him multiple summer internships—his first at a local station in Rogers, Arkansas, and then at ESPN. After graduation, Jonathan was hired within the same department, and he has remained with the company for the last 13 years.

Today, as ESPN’s Associate Director II, Jonathan is a four-time Emmy winner. His fourth came recently, for his work on the show Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli (colloquially known as Manningcast).

“There is no bigger thrill than working on something and having it instantly be seen by millions of viewers around the country,” Jonathan said. “I had grown up watching SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight. My love of sports and television blended together perfectly at the ‘Worldwide Leader in Sports.’”

No doubt Jonathan’s most memorable occasion at ESPN was meeting his wife, Katie Hennessey, a native of Corona, California. She is a three-time Emmy-winning talent producer at ESPN.

“Meeting Katie was the best thing that’s happened to me,” Jonathan said. “We actually had our COVID wedding outside Fenway Park. With [Liberty-Eylau alumnus and former professional baseball player] Will Middlebrooks’ help, we got our name on the Jumbotron before the first pitch. Katie is the hardest working and most genuinely caring person I’ve ever met.”

Jonathan met his wife, Katie, at ESPN, and they were married outside Fenway Park in Boston.

Coincidentally, Middlebrooks is the same age as Jonathan, and the two competed in high school athletics. Middlebrooks played for the Boston Red Sox and other teams before an injury forced him to retire. He now works for NESN, broadcasting Red Sox games. Jonathan said that it is awesome to see what Will has done with his television career, claiming that he is a natural on camera and might even be a better commentator than he was an athlete.

Working alongside experts like Katie and Will is the best part of Jonathan’s job. “It is insanely crazy that I get to be a part of some of the most iconic sports television in the world with the best crews of people in the industry,” he said.

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