User:Andrew727

Andrew Boggs


Andrew Boggs(born July 27, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a writer, webmaster and radio reporter.

Boggs covered stories as a stringer for ABC, CBS, NBC, Mutual radio networks and covered stories for AP and UPI wire services in the 1970's and 1980's. He also did sound design work for plays at the State Theater on Cleveland's famed Playhouse Square, Beck Center and Lakewood Little Theater including theatrical productions at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. Currently, Andrew is webmaster for Mall 727 and working on new site called "House & Cottage" to be introduced in summer 2007.

EARLY YEARS

Andrew was born at Deaconess Hospital (same as Drew Carey)in Old Brooklyn, Ohio. He grew up with two brothers, Dan(deceased) and Mark. Andrew and brothers were physically and mentally-battered by father, but pretty much survived intact. Andrew started in show business side by appearing in elementary school stage productions. In junior high school he ran camera and board for intra-school television station at Charles A. Mooney Junior High School. Andrew also spent period running school's planatarium as well helped grind two 10" telescope lenses as a class science project. Boggs wrote feature stories for both his junior high and Rhodes High School newspapers. In junior high, Andrew did an inpromtu broadcast for some friends who cut class. What he didn't know was two classes were expecting to see a math program - instead they saw Playboy foldouts smuggled in by friends and a spitball fight. The math teacher in a rage walked in beating Andrew up with a science teacher pulling the math teacher off of him. Thankfully the science instructor had a sense of humor and impressed with Andrew's production ended-up giving him two periods in the television lab.

During his junior and high school years, Andrew spent a lot of his time at Cleveland's WVIZ TV's broadcast studio rubbing elbows with author Don Robertson, television personality Fred Griffith, high school sportscaster Mike Massa and station manager, Betty Cope. Later, Andrew moved on to ABC affiliate, WEWS TV 5 in Cleveland, learning broadcast journalism from John Hambrick, Dave Patterson, Gib Shanley and Don Webster, lunching once-in-a-while with Dorothy Fuldheim.

Andrew would have a stint writing several feature stories for an urban Ohio City newspaper called the Penny Post, published by then-senator, Charles Butts.

At the end of his high school years finishing up at Lincoln-West High School, Andrew received a scholarship to study journalism at Bowling Green State University in the early 1970's. He did college sportscasting at BGSU's WFAL-AM and short pieces for WBGU FM. Afterwards Andrew returned to Cleveland, Ohio to freelance radio documentaries for WSUM, WZAK and WBOE(now WCPN) FM. Perhaps the most celebrated was "The Forgotten Child - A Look at Child Abuse" on WSUM AM. In doing TFC, Andrew drew a lot of fire from the news director for pre-writing the script and questions. Andrew told the ND that it is a documentary and not a five-minute on-the-air newscast, therefore Andrew could make it a more intelligent three hour documentary with open lines following the taped segment. News Director Lou Kishkunas would remember Andrew for an opening at WERE NewsRadio 1300 AM a few years later.

Andrew came on-board at GCC Communications in April 1977 to update its traffic reporting operations working initially with Vietnam-era helicopter pilots/traffic reporters Art Fantroy and Walt Harris, then Dave Baron whom he knew from his TV 25 and Channel 5 days. Andrew was brought in to innovate the ground operations of the division and would work with the journalists in the field communicating with the studios. Later, Andrew would run board on Mutual's "Larry King" radio talk show. On the broadcast one evening, Andrew was running the board when the teletype alarms went off in the newsroom. He checked the wires, grabbed the information, broke into the broadcast to report the murder of former Beatles musician, John Lennon outside his New York City apartment building and segued into ABC news for the details for the Cleveland audience, getting the information on the air, first. Then before the reporters came in for putting together the morning drive package, Boggs did an interview with Plain Dealer newspaper columnist Jane Scott who spent time with the Beatles in their first Cleveland appearance. Andrew would work in getting ONN's (formerly WJW TV 8's reporter) Eleanor Hayes to some news stories and acting as liason between location and studio. Boggs progressed into weekend desk assistant working with personalities such as Casey Coleman(now with WTAM AM), Cleveland Indians Pitcher Mudcat Grant, and former famed Westinghouse night time talk show host Bud Wendall of PM. Andrew would also be out in the field getting tape or seting up interviews with personalities like Jesse Jackson or covering a race riot, bank hostage situation for Mutual, an impending surgery of a Saudi prince for CBS radio news and stories for ABC and NBC news services, including an on-location burning of a major downtown Cleveland building. Andrew also did stringer work for AP and UPI wire services. During that time, Andrew pulled a weeknight radio anchor shift at WOBL AM in Oberlin, Ohio. On Friday nights when Andy didn't have to rush back to Cleveland, he would record comedy bits along with disc jockey, Paul Stoneman. Andrew would also prepare and do late night weather forecasts on WGCL(now WNCX) 98.5 FM. While there, Andrew was putting together a feature pilot called "WEEKEND" interviewing such celebrities as Helen Reddy. He also produced the East Ohio Gas Sports Report. Andrew had additional duties writing, producing and providing voice talent for commercials and PSA's. On one occasion, Andrew was assigned to write and produce spots for a circus fundraiser for the MetroGeneral Hospital Burn Unit. While Andrew wrote the spot, he really didn't feel right voicing them. So he brought down his two young daughters (4yrs and 5yrs at the time) to record the PSA's, Andrew had divided the script equally between the two girls and with the help of their mom, coached the lines of the youngest. In April of 1984, Andrew left GCC Communications over a salary dispute. Andrew is also a member of AFTRA/SAG and holds a commercial FCC license.

After leaving GCC Communications, Andrew joined the team at Baron Aviation who produced and voiced traffic reports for several Cleveland area radio stations. While there, Andrew was featured in a Westinghouse-produced PM Magazine television show. Andrew inbetween shifts as a producer would clean the windows on fixed-wing aircraft and attempted to study in getting his own pilots license. After an ongoing conflict with two jealous co-workers over Andrew's working relationship with Dave Baron as well television appearances, he left (he resigned two times before it was accepted), tired of the bickering over what was supposed to be a team effort.

Andrew has restored an 1866 house in Ohio City and worked as a team member in building a Habitat For Humanity house in Berea, Ohio in 1994. He has also co-chaired a Friendly Town fundraiser as well did a stint as head of a local SHHH hearing-impaired group in Rocky River, Ohio.

Eventually, Andrew went back to college at Baldwin-Wallace in Berea, Ohio and received a BA in Communications in June 1992. While there, he involved himself in Work/Study by shelving books at Ritter Library on campus. Andrew became involved in writing, producing and narrating a feature for the college radio station called NewsPulse 88. He also did newscasts for WBWC FM as well.

After graduation, Andrew did marketing research and a one year stint for General Electric. The division ceased operations as Andrew developed a serious interest in internet content. Andrew's first site was called "andrew727.com", followed by the renaming of the site as "MALL 727 @ andrew727.com and later in its current incarnation, "MALL 727." The site is an information site featuring a graphic storm map as well local forecast access courtesy The Weather Channel. Among product links is an indepth linking to the nations' newspapers and international radio stations and networks as well commentary by Andrew. Currently, Andrew is developing a new site called "House & Cottage" which is targeted to young middle and lower incomed individuals. Its planned for an online launch in Summer 2007. In "andrew727.com's" first year in 2000, the site had over 350,000 hits. However, as more internet sites came online, the yearly average has dropped to a fraction of that high.

CURRENT

Andrew enjoys reading non-fiction books and biography, holds a General Class FCC Amateur Radio License, writes prose and dabbles in amateur astronomy. Andrew has two adult daughters and a son.