Dori Monson, a right-of-center radio host with KIRO (710 AM, 97.3 FM) in Seattle and a member of the Seahawks broadcast team, died on New Year’s Eve at the age of 61.
In a statement on Sunday, a spokesperson for KIRO’s parent company, Bonneville International, said Monson was hospitalized earlier in the week due to a “cardiac event” and died on Saturday.
Monson graduated from the University of Washington and worked for NBC affiliate KING (Channel 5) and KING (1090 AM, now KPTR) before moving to KIRO in the early 1990s, according to the Seattle Times newspaper.
In June, Barrett Sports Media profiled Monson’s meteoric rise in local media, including a decision at KING that would propel his radio career.
“The new television news director [at KING-TV] told me I had to quit radio,” Monson said in the profile. “When I asked why he said he didn’t have to tell me. I assume it was because he had something against the radio side and wanted to stick it to them. … I went in and met our radio news director Steve Wexler and told him I was thinking of choosing radio over television. He kind of grimaced and said he wouldn’t do that if he were me.”
Ultimately, Monson did choose radio over television, and stuck with the career for three decades. At the time of his passing, KIRO said he was their top-rated mid-day host.
In addition to his mid-day show, Monson’s broadcast duties once included pre- and post-game coverage of Seattle Seahawks football games, which KIRO carried. He also held weekly broadcasts with long-time Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
His Seahawks-related programs ended in 2020 over a controversial social media posting. Monson later claimed the post was out of context. He continued hosting his show with KIRO until his passing on Saturday.
“We, along with Dori’s family, are mourning his loss,” Cathy Cangiano, the market manager for Bonneville in Seattle, said in a statement. “We are working on on-air tributes to memorialize and celebrate his life and legacy.”
Monson leaves behind his wife and three adult daughters.
