About Mike Bates
Mike Bates began his radio career in 1980 at age 14 while in high school in Virginia. When in college, he worked at a NPR station in Tennessee. Since 1989, he has worked at radio stations in Florida. He has been on the air in several formats including top 40, country, NPR, and news/talk, his favorite. Mike has interviewed politicians, actors, singers, military personnel, authors, college professors, sports stars, and more.
He has covered numerous events at The White House plus visits to Northwest Florida by Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. In March 2016, he was part of the Official White House Press Corps that accompanied President Obama on his historic trip to Havana, Cuba.
Mike has interviewed Will Chesney, who served with SEAL Team Six on the 2011 mission that killed Osama bin Laden. He also interviewed Lt. Colonel Dick Cole, who was 101 years old at the time. Cole was Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot on the historic “Doolittle Raid” over Japan on April 18, 1942.
Mike researched, narrated, and produced a 20 part "History of the Blue Angels" radio series and has flown with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels in both the F/A-18 Hornet and the "Fat Albert" C-130.
He also produced a ten hour radio documentary about the Vietnam War ("AFVN: The GI's Companion") which included eleven days of research in Vietnam.
While the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig was still ablaze in 2010, Mike flew over the site in a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter, so he could share first-hand information about the disaster.
When hurricanes have threatened Florida's Gulf Coast, Mike provided residents with storm path and preparation information via live updates from the Emergency Operations Center. After the storms, Mike provided critical relief and recovery information.
On election nights - and during the occasional recounts for which Florida is so famous - voters knew up-to-the-minute vote tallies via Mike’s live reports from the Supervisor of Elections Office.
From 2002 - 2017, Mike broadcast live reports for FSU football games at Doak Campbell Stadium on the campus of Florida State University, at numerous ACC Championship Games in Charlotte, and at the 2014 BCS National Championship Game when the Seminoles defeated the Auburn Tigers at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Since 1990, he has served on numerous non-profit and advertising industry boards. From 2017 - 2019, he was the Government Relations Chairman for the 4th District of the American Advertising Federation. In that capacity, he represented the interests of Florida and the Caribbean in meetings with lawmakers in both Tallahassee and Washington. Mike won first place national achievement awards for his work with AAF in 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2017. In 2018, he was awarded 4AAF’s Governor's Cup Trophy at the American Advertising Awards in recognition of his outstanding and effective volunteer service to the district.
Since 1992, Mike has volunteered his time to serve on the Florida Panhandle Friends of NRA Committee which promotes gun safety and works to protect Second Amendment Rights. Twenty-five of those years were as Vice-Chairman. He was honored by the NRA as Florida’s “Volunteer of the Year” in 1997.
When he's not discussing politics and current events, Mike enjoys sailing, scuba diving, and traveling. He and his wife Kimberly reside in Pensacola.
Some of Mike’s more memorable interviews (in alphabetical order):
Alex Haley, author of Roots
Ann Coulter, author
Bill Kristol, publisher of The Weekly Standard
Bob Dole, Presidential candidate
Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida
Cher, singer/actress
Dick Armey, Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives
Dick Cole, Doolittle Raider USAAF
Dick Morris, political analyst
Don Gaetz, President of the Florida Senate
Gary Johnson, Governor of New Mexico
Garth Brooks, award-winning country singer
George LeMieux, United States Senator
Greg Evers, Florida Senator
Harry Belafonte, singer, actor, activist
Herman Cain, Presidential candidate
Jeff Miller, United States Congressman
Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida
Jennifer Carroll, Lieutenant Governor of Florida
Joe Scarborough, United States Congressman
John McCain, Presidential candidate
Larry Csonka, NFL Hall of Famer, Miami Dolphins
Marco Rubio, United States Senator
Matt Gaetz, U.S. Congressman
Mel Martinez, United States Senator
Michele Bachmann, Congresswoman
Mitt Romney, Presidential candidate
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Nick Buoniconti, NFL Hall of Famer, Miami Dolphins
Ofer Bavly, Consul General of Israel
Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General
Pat Sajak, “Wheel of Fortune” host
Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
Rick Santorum, United States Senator
Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida
Ron Paul, U.S. Congressman and Presidential Candidate
Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of New York
Sam Brownback, Governor of Kansas
Sebastian Gorka, Senior Adviser to the President of the United States
Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media
Vince Flynn, best-selling New York Times author
Walid Shoebat, former PLO terrorist
Will Chesney, U.S. Navy, SEAL Team Six