Editing Michael Wilbon (section)

=== Television ===
After contributing to ESPN's ''[[The Sports Reporters]]'' and other shows on the cable network, Wilbon began co-hosting ESPN's daily opinion forum ''[[Pardon the Interruption]]'' (''PTI'') with [[Tony Kornheiser]] on October 22, 2001.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://archive.peninsulapress.com/2014/04/29/michael-wilbon-espn/|title=ESPN's Michael Wilbon on childhood, sports and 'Pardon the Interruption'|last=Otis|first=Allison|date=29 April 2014|website=Peninsula Press|access-date=2017-07-07}}</ref> Wilbon was also a member of [[ESPN on ABC|ABC]]'s ''[[NBA Countdown]]'' (which he hosted with [[Jalen Rose]], [[Bill Simmons]] and [[Magic Johnson]]), which was the pre-game show for the network's NBA telecasts. Prior to joining ESPN, Wilbon worked on the BET Budweiser Sports Report show. One memorable segment had Wilbon taking issue with Brian Williams  (née Bison Dele) transferring from Maryland to Arizona.

In addition to his work at ''The Washington Post'', ''PTI'' and ESPN, Wilbon appeared weekly on [[WRC-TV]] in Washington, D.C., with WRC Sports Director [[George Michael (sportscaster)|George Michael]], and [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]rs [[John Riggins]] and [[Sonny Jurgensen]] on ''Redskins Report'' during the football season. He also appeared with Michael, ''[[USA Today]]'' basketball writer [[David Dupree]] and [[Tony Kornheiser]] on ''Full Court Press'' during the basketball season. Both of these shows were canceled in December 2008 due to budget cuts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122901353_pf.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Leonard Shapiro: Loss of Michael Is a Truly Deep Cut|date=December 29, 2008|first=Leonard|last=Shapiro|access-date=May 12, 2010}}</ref> Wilbon also forged a close friendship with former Marshall and former NFL quarterback [[Byron Leftwich]] while the young passer was a standout player for HD Woodson in Washington, D.C.

In late 2006, Wilbon agreed to a multi-year contract extension with ESPN. After accepting the contract, Wilbon offered to resign from the ''Post'', but the newspaper's chairman [[Donald E. Graham|Don Graham]] and executive editor [[Leonard Downie, Jr.|Len Downie]] both asked him to stay on.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2007/01/25/will-wilbons-8-million-tv-deal-make-him-a-stranger-at-the-post/|title=Will Wilbon's $8-Million TV Deal Make Him a Stranger at the Post?|last=Jaffe|first=Harry|date=2007-01-25|website=Washingtonian|access-date=2017-07-07}}</ref> The network gained priority therein with regards to conflicts with his newspaper assignments.<ref>{{cite news |author=Michael McCarthy |date=December 27, 2006 |title=Wilbon now more of an ESPN guy |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/2006-12-27-wilbon_x.htm |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604153008/https://www.usatoday.com/sports/2006-12-27-wilbon_x.htm |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |access-date=November 21, 2024 |newspaper=USA Today}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/2006-12-27-wilbon_x.htm |title=Will Wilbon's $8-Million TV deal make him a stranger at the Post?|magazine=Washingtonian|author=Harry Jaffe|date=January 25, 2007}}</ref> The first major conflict occurred on February 4, 2007, when Wilbon covered a [[Detroit Pistons]]–[[Cleveland Cavaliers]] game instead of [[Super Bowl XLI]].