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John Zant

John Zant

Contact John via e-mail

Photo of John Zant

John Zant has been a working journalist in Santa Barbara for over 40 years. After graduating from UCSB with a degree in anthropology, he was hired to cover high school football by the News-Press in the fall of 1968. The diversity of sports in Santa Barbara has kept him occupied ever since, as a reporter, feature writer, and columnist. He received numerous awards from the Associated Press for his work,, including a four-part series in 1973 that explored the increasing participation of women and girls in sports. Zant wrote extensively about Olympic sports, focusing on local athletes. He attended the 1972 Summer Games in Munich and subsequently covered six other Olympics for the News-Press: Montreal (1976), Los Angeles (1984), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004). In the summer of 1988, Zant left the sports beat and embarked on a 110-mile walk along the Santa Barbara County coast from the Santa Maria River mouth to Rincon. The resulting 10-part series was submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration. He also covered three World Series, three Super Bowls, and a number of NBA Finals games in Los Angeles. Since leaving the News-Press in February of 2007, Zant has written a weekly sports column for The Independent and contributed updates to independent.com. He is married to Kathleen Rodriguez, another UCSB graduate. Between them, they have six grown children and three grandchildren.

Recent stories

  • Run for Life

    September 1, 2010

  • Week in Sports

    August 30, 2010

  • Superstar and Local Star Combine for Polo Victory

    August 29, 2010

  • Final Polo Showdown

    August 27, 2010

  • S.B. Triathlon

    August 25, 2010

  • Week in Sports

    August 24, 2010

  • Sports News

    August 18, 2010

  • Week in Sports

    August 17, 2010

  • Foresters in Final Four

    August 12, 2010

  • Polo Spectacular

    August 10, 2010

  • See full list of stories by John Zant...

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