Bonta Hill's Unlikely Journey to Bay Area Radio Stardom
The San Francisco-based radio host shares insight on his career and the future of the industry.
I’m a journalist — I’ll always identify as such — so the transition into the radio world has occasionally felt difficult to grasp. Since I started at 95.7 the Game in October, I’ve had the chance to observe and learn from some talented and detail-oriented producers and on-air personalities.
Everyone at the station seems to have their niche, or something they’re especially talented at. But nobody has combined a bunch of different traits and strengths into one big, strong, well-oiled machine like Bonta Hill has.
And nobody has worked harder, either.
The Bonta Hill style of radio consists of oozing confidence that leaks through the microphone and the natural ability to express a well-informed sports opinion through a delivery so fearless that it makes the Bay Area radio towers literally rock back and forth — just ask Farhan Zaidi!
Bonta announced his departure from the Morning Roast on Friday, citing health, family and a new expanded, full-time role at NBC Sports Bay Area.
My first thought was that he could finally take a breather — you try rising from your slumber for a 6 a.m. radio show and hosting Warriors’ pregame and postgame all while balancing life as a father and significant other.
I wrote the following piece about Bonta on May 2, 2024, a few weeks before I graduated from San Francisco State University and five months before I started at 95.7 the Game as a producer. It was my final assignment for a tough magazine writing class at SFSU.
Bonta was extremely gracious with his time and allowed me access inside the sacred studios at 95.7 the Game during the Morning Roast. Afterward, we sat down for an hour-long interview where he unveiled details from his past that aren’t always shared, or even known.
The morning of reporting was unforgettable. I saw the nitty-gritty details behind a successfully efficient, passionate, laid-back and dominant operation; one that I was so intrigued with that I almost wanted to be apart of it the second I walked out the front door.
I never had the chance to publish this story for the student-run newspaper, Golden Gate Xpress.
I think now is a solid time to publish.
The bright, red light beamed around Bonta Hill’s microphone — he was live on the airwaves, talking with an entire community of Bay Area sports fans about the recent monumental playoff loss by the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors, once an organization featuring several stars filled with aura and legacy, had transformed into a team with heavy baggage that slowly deteriorated into veterans who are now simple shells of themselves. As a radio host — and no-nonsense personality who lacks fear — Hill’s sadness about the defeat was replaced with optimism about the future, about how to build Golden State back to the Golden State.
Although the loss on the court occurred two days prior, The Morning Roast – co-hosted by Hill and Joe Shasky – was still cooking with blazing opinions and reactions about the future of the Warriors franchise.
The line for listeners to dial into the show was vast and lengthy, many of whom were regulars — hell, they suffered through the loss and they wanted to have their own say, too. There were tumultuous takes on trade possibilities and fever-dream free-agent fantasies. Trade Curry. Keep Curry. Bench Curry. Cut Klay and Draymond. How about LeBron?
“We call our show controlled chaos,” Hill exclaimed as the six-minute commercial break made it possible for a quick restroom break or check-in with a producer to review an epic line, or possible soundbite for an upcoming segment.
The dress code widely missed the qualifications for being considered casual as Hill rolled into the studio with a white flat-bill cap and a Jordan-branded sweatshirt. Shasky’s all-San Francisco Giants wardrobe — a shirt and a hat — didn’t thread the needle either, especially in the context of working for a high-level sports broadcasting entity.
As evident from family holidays and casual conversations with friends, discussions about sports always find their place at the right moment. For most diehard fans, the idea of engaging in these conversations every day as a paid job remains nothing more than a pipe dream.
“Whether I was getting paid or not, these are the conversations that me and my friends would have — me and my father would have,” Shasky said.
This type of atmosphere is the regular climate inside the oval-shaped studio at 88 Kearny St. in San Francisco, where 95.7 the Game has been regularly dominating the ratings with their passionate sports takes and exquisite personalities across all programming.
A big part of the success stems from Hill, a longtime on-air talent at the station and co-host of The Morning Roast, the table-setting morning show responsible for entertaining Bay Area sports fans on either their commute to work and school or those so far obsessed enough with sports to listen later in the day on rewind.
Sports talk radio is grappling with numerous challenges in the current media landscape. Parent companies are finding it difficult to turn a profit, while platforms like YouTube and podcasting are dominating the scene. There's also an ongoing struggle to adapt to a rapidly changing society. But these are challenges that haven’t phased Hill, and others employed by the station.
They’re focused on barreling through the issue head-on.
A product of San Francisco, Hill once roamed Waller St.— but never comfortably. During the course of his upbringing, his parents and their involvement were inconsistent at best. Dad was in and out of jail, while Mom was struggling with drug addiction. She has now been sober for 24 years.
“We’re born into situations we have no control over and we have no control over what adults do with their lives when you're a kid,” Hill said.
At 10 years old, Hill was placed in the foster care system. He remained there until age 17, around the time he was graduating from Washington High School. Despite the messy nature of his home life, living in the closest environment to normalcy was always front and center of his mind.
That meant no special treatment from anyone —no sympathy.
Absolutely none.
“I wanted to be judged like the guy who maybe grew up in a five-story mansion, or the person who had both parents in a two-story house,” Hill said. “I wanted to be the same. I didn't want the whole ‘woe is me.’”
Later, while he would search for vacant positions in sports media, the darkness of his youth would purposely be omitted from every job interview. The blotchy timeline in Hill’s journey simply wasn’t viewed as important for anyone — especially prospective bosses — to know about. For that reason, he kept it stuffed under a carpet unless anyone specifically asked.
At 21, Hill — like any ambitious young adult seeking independence — was determined to obtain a driver’s license. After some deliberation, his father agreed to drive him to the local DMV to take the behind-the-wheel test. The joyous occasion soon turned sour when Hill’s father played the same card he’d been playing for quite some time: absence.
He never showed up.
“He flaked on me that day,” Hill said. “We didn't talk for like three years. But that day was pivotal for me because it's like, ‘Alright, enough of depending on anybody.’”
The light that switched on inside Hill’s head the afternoon his father ditched him was one of fierce determination, fueled by the intent to prove everyone wrong on his own, without relying on anyone else.
Hill, 41, says the demons that infiltrated the early years of his life have mostly subsided and he seldomly tells his story publicly. But now, with a larger pull and an elevated social status as a public figure in the sports media industry, his responsibilities have significantly altered into a role model position.
“I do realize as I'm in this position, it’s kind of coming full circle to where I've not talked about it for so long, to where now it's like, damn, I might need to talk about it,” Hill said. “There's a kid in foster care right now who probably is a fanatic like I was — loves the Warriors, loves the Giants, probably wants to be involved in sports.”
In his early 20s, Hill worked at Peet’s Coffee while also taking the graveyard shift at UPS to receive benefits. For the initial few years after graduating high school, attending college never appeared to be on Hill’s radar. It wasn’t until the City of College of San Francisco burst onto the scene that, ultimately helped change the course of his career.
“I was 25 years old, and I was in a situation where it was now or never,” Hill said.
There’s a significant stigma surrounding junior colleges. Many students feel embarrassed about attending one because it's not a traditional four-year university with publicity around it.
It's also a prime destination for individuals who are uncertain about their future to discover their niche at a cost-effective price.
“You can get all the fundamental things out of the way at a junior college and you can learn a lot about yourself,” Hill said. “The grind, learning how to stretch $20 out during the week, eating, dieting — whatever it is. The JUCO way really helps you lock in and it makes you push forward.”
Always a passionate Bay Area sports fan, Hill found CCSF’s journalism to be particularly helpful.
“I learned so much what I know now is mostly from what I learned at City College in terms of print journalism,” Hill recalled.
During a sports writing contest during a journalism conference in Los Angeles, Hill covered a Friday evening softball game between Stanford and UCLA. At the time, the UCLA Bruins were flying high with an 11-1 record on Fridays, an obscure statistic that only Hill could’ve found endearing.
Unsurprisingly, the Bruins defeated the Cardinal and further improved their strange stretch of enjoying Fridays. Hill — curious, goofy and silly mixed into one trait — broke the ice with one of the players after the game.
“Is there something you do with the Gatorade on Fridays?” Hill asked with his recording device in the face of the amused hero from the ballgame.
Not only did everyone laugh, but Hill's story also earned first place at JACC.
After showing interest in attending the University of Maryland and Howard University, Hill opted to stay local and transferred to San Francisco State University in 2011 to pursue a degree in BECA.
“As we're learning as journalists, you need to be able to write, be able to speak, maybe be in front of a camera — you have to do all those things,” Hill said. “That's where the business is going. SF State, I was thankful for that and how I was able to get that opportunity. It was the perfect timing, the perfect storm. I loved my time at SF State — it didn't feel like I was in San Francisco.”
At the same time, he was submitting freelance articles for SanFran Preps, the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle. He also served as CCSF’s public address announcer for five years.
Anything offered to him — even volleyball and NASCAR — was a guaranteed acceptance.
“You'll notice early on in your tenure as you're trying to make a name for yourself in the journalism world, especially print journalism, you will take anything,” Hill said. “If you say no to something, he's going to ask somebody else and that person is going to say yes and you're never getting a call again.”
While surviving on McDonald’s, Jack in the Box and a little bit of ramen at SFSU, Hill hosted the Three-Man Weave on KSFS, the campus radio station.
All podcasts, radio shows and technical operations are run by students, according to Jeff Jacoby, a professor in the BECA department.
“They are responsible for the shows they put on the air, and responsible for the operation of the station. This means that they are put in a powerful position,” Jacoby said. “When a student isn't handed a prescribed pathway to learning or doing creative work, but rather is urgently encouraged to feel that whatever they do best be taken seriously, they often gain a higher level of personal and professional agency.”
Ahmed Jamal — otherwise known as AJ — is a fourth-year student in the BECA department and currently the host of WeGotNextSF, a sports program similar to the one Hill used to produce and operate.
A basketball and football player in his youth, Jamal grew up watching the two Bay Area teams — the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco Giants — and idolized wide receiver Michael Crabtree. As a kid, he and his friends would engage in discussions — some heated, some calm and collective — about all things sports.
“It all stemmed from those high school lunch tables where you're talking,” Jamal said. “Curry just won the NBA 2015 finals, and everybody's like, ‘Oh, LeBron is better.’ Having those conversations about sports during lunch stems all of it.”?
Jamal initially launched his show alongside two other personalities: a fellow BECA student and a member of the basketball team. However, when both of his co-hosts graduated, Jamal found himself grappling with the significant adjustment of transitioning to a solo show.
Seeking inspiration, Jamal began inviting various guests onto his show, ranging from friends to student-athletes, coaches, and other individuals with diverse opinions and insights in the realm of sports.
“You could just talk for two hours about nonsense, but it's about putting on a show and putting on a performance for an audience to listen to,” Jamal said.
In the BECA department, students are expected to quickly become writers, directors, producers, performers, engineers, and promoters, as required for a radio programmer position at KSFS radio.
“They have to figure out what works for them, and how to execute it with excellence,” Jacoby said. “All of this creates leaders who have wide experience in media creation, and an understanding that a full commitment to their work is a basic requirement.”
As Hill walked across the stage at the SFSU graduation, he achieved a significant milestone: becoming the first person on his maternal side to earn a bachelor's degree and the second on his dad's side.
“And that was important to me, just to stay I accomplished something. Just to have my name on the diploma — that was huge for me,” Hill said.
In May 2013, Hill commenced his internship at KNBR 680, the renowned Bay Area sports radio station and flagship of the San Francisco Giants. During his internship, he contributed behind the scenes, drafting broadcast copy and screening phone calls for the weeknight audience call-in show. The station later offered him a full-time position, launching his rise in the industry.
Three years later, Hill was hired by 95.7 the Game, a newly revamped Bay Area sports station with an eye on the prize — unseat KNBR as the most popular station. The two sides are fierce competitors, and it's common for many personalities to have spent time working at both stations.
Just as he was settling into a rhythm on the midday show alongside veteran radio host Greg Papa, Papa announced his move to KNBR 680 to become the play-by-play voice of the 49ers. This left Hill contemplating his future, as the joy he once found in his work seemed to have diminished.
Enter Joe Shasky.
A native San Franciscan, Shasky's ascent in the radio industry is quite unconventional. While working as a butcher during the day, Shasky would frequently call into Bay Area sports stations, quickly gaining recognition as a fan favorite for his unmistakable loud energy and passionate demeanor. In 2018, he was given the chance to host shows with 95.7 the Game, and a year later, he was paired with Hill to host 49ers postgame shows during their Super Bowl run in 2020.
“For me to be on-air — I always had this like impostor syndrome,” Shasky said. “But he made me feel like myself and I felt like I brought the fandom out of him. It was just a perfect dynamic between the two of us and the team went on to have crazy success. And it all felt like it was magically connected to us and we just rode that wave of momentum.”
The pairing became immensely popular, and Hill attributed the resurgence of his passion for radio to Shasky's infectious energy. They’ve since been upgraded to working the morning slot — the Morning Roast — from 6-10 a.m.
And now, they're stronger than ever, dominating the charts for their time slot among Bay Area sports stations.
“We may have days where we get on each other's nerves,” Hill said. “But that's life — you're going to always have that in a working relationship. It would be very, very difficult for me to work with anybody else on the radio other than Joe Shasky, the butcher. It would be very hard because when he's not here, I feel it. That's no disrespect to anybody else. I just know I can go to levels with him that I can’t go to with other people because he understands the history. He understands the city, he understands his part of the city — my part of the city is a little different. But we bring it all together and it makes beautiful music.”
The future of sports talk radio has been hammered with concerns over listenership and content — many stations are starting to be phased out by YouTube shows and successful podcasts. Some are concerned with the trend toward less objectivity and more fandom in the overall opinions shed on the show.
“I’m not gonna sit here and say we're the most objective show,” said Sam Lubman, the producer of the Morning Roast. “I think we do a good job of being real though. And fans can be objective, fans can be real and I think that's how we approach it. Sometimes, we do get too objective from a fan standpoint. I think we balance it very well on our show.”
Hill also notices this trend.
“I think the best days are behind sports radio,” Hill said. “I think it's already hit its peak. Podcasts are getting more and more popular. We have athletes doing podcasts. A lot of people want to hear from athletes instead of some guys who've never played the game at that level talking about their teams.”
Kerry Crowley, a former Giants beat writer, has been serving as a part-time radio host at KNBR for the past few years. In his current role, he hosts SportsPhone 680, a show heavily reliant on audience participation. Interestingly, KNBR has oscillated on whether to discontinue the show altogether.
Crowley emphasizes the value of connecting with the audience and enabling their involvement in the show. He highlights that while this interaction doesn't need to occur in every episode or be a standard feature on every program, it's essential for stations to reserve time for listener participation. He underscores the importance of this allocation, as listeners invest considerable time with the station.
If they wish to share their opinions, space should be provided for that purpose.
“I would hope that one day that radio stations start to contract with podcasters and YouTubers and bring people in for a couple of live hours at a time,” Crowley said. “I think that's the way the industry could ultimately go in five to 10 years. Right now, it's at a point where I think that opportunities are contracting, things are bleak.”