After graduating from Fairfield University in 2000 with a degree in history, Joe DeCamara didn’t immediately get into sports broadcasting. Having grown up in the Philadelphia area, he was a big sports fan, but his early professional life included working in finance. In 2002, he would begin his sports radio career as an intern for WBCB, a station owned by legendary Eagles play-by-play voice Merrill Reese.
Fast forward to today and DeCamara is the co-host of the 94WIP Morning Show on a station that he listened to a lot as a kid.
“I love doing the show,” said DeCamara who hosts the show with Jon Ritchie. “I feel very fortunate to be hosting the WIP Morning Show, I love it. It’s a dream for me to do it…I guess you can say a dream that has come true.”
The dream began to take shape in 2004 when DeCamara joined WIP as a producer of The Howard Eskin Show. He left to join Sports Radio 950 when that station launched in 2005 and would serve as assistant program director, weeknight host and host of the Eagles pre-game show. He returned to WIP in 2016 to become the midday host with Ritchie.
DeCamara and Ritchie hosted the midday show before getting the nod to move to mornings in February of 2023. DeCamara is obviously passionate about the Philadelphia sports scene and has enjoyed a career in sports radio that has now lasted 23 years.
And he’s doing it in his hometown with a devoted audience of listeners.
“To be doing the show is a great thrill,” said DeCamara. “The response from the audience has been very gratifying. Going into our first show and our first week and our first month and our first year of the morning show, there was no way to know for sure how listeners would respond. All you can obviously do is do your best to try and put a great show out there for the audience in a way that hopefully they’ll be entertained and take to it and choose to listen to it.”
When DeCamara and Ritchie were named to take over the morning show, they did so with the responsibility of replacing a legend with the retirement of Angelo Cataldi. Those were big shoes to fill, but for DeCamara it was more about the opportunity than the responsibility. The hope was that the listeners would gravitate to the new morning show.
“I really did not worry about replacing Angelo,” said DeCamara. “The only thing that was a concern was would people take to our program. You can’t control people. You can’t force them to listen. All you can do is do the best that you can to hopefully put a great program out there. I felt confident that if we did a great show, people would listen.”
Combined with their time hosting middays, DeCamara and Ritchie just passed their 8-year anniversary working together. They, along with producer James Seltzer, have formed a great team over the years and it’s a working relationship that has evolved into a great friendship.
Moving to the mornings would not have been the same for DeCamara if he didn’t move with the whole team.
“I love working with Jon and it was very important to me that he and I and James stay together,” said DeCamara. “We have built friendship. One of the main things that people will say about our show is that they feel that there’s chemistry and comradery which we’re fortunate to have. We have trust. That’s such a big thing when you trust a person that you work with or the people that you work with because it helps in so many ways.”
While DeCamara and Ritchie are the hosts of the morning show, they are accompanied by a strong team around them that also includes Joe Weachter, Rhea Hughes, Joe Conklin and Devan Kaney. Guests are also a huge part of a successful morning show, and the fall list of regulars includes the likes of Ray Didinger, Seth Joyner, Ron Jaworski, Brandon Graham, Nick Siriani, Ross Tucker, Mike Quick, Jason Kelce and Dick Vermeil.
“We’re very fortunate to have just an amazing lineup of guests and contributors,” said DeCamara.
When you put a list together of passionate sports markets in the country, that list starts with cities like Philadelphia, New York and Boston. For DeCamara, it’s one thing to be from one of those markets and it’s even more special to be doing sports talk radio in said market.
That has made this ride unbelievably enjoyable for him.
“It’s incredible,” said DeCamara. “There’s no more passionate town in America with regards to sports intensity. I sense that Philadelphia, New York and Boston are all wired in a pretty similar way with regard to intensity. I’ve always said that we’ll ride the wave of positivity and good times and we’ll be right there with all the fans lamenting in bad times and do everything in-between.”
To say that DeCamara is living the good life in Philadelphia and at WIP would be an understatement.
He’s hosting the morning show at a station that he grew up listening to, working with a great partner and staff and has the backing and support of the top brass at Audacy Philadelphia.
What could be better?
“I love working for (Audacy Philadelphia Senior Vice-President) David Yadgaroff and (Brand Manager) Rod Lakin,” said DeCamara. “I don’t take it for granted. I’m incredibly happy with what I’m doing. I want to do the best job I possibly can to hopefully provide a great show for listeners, to meet, match or exceed the expectation from WIP and Audacy who have put a lot of faith in me.”
These are great times for Joe DeCamara. He’s co-hosting the morning show at WIP and is surrounded by a tremendous cast. He also is expected to have a book published next year so he certainly has a lot on his plate. And he’s doing this working in a market that he is passionate about and a market that is so passionate about sports.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
