Rome started his radio
career at
college radio station KCSB-FM while at UCSB, where he was sports director for one quarter, and at
news station KTMS, also located in
Santa Barbara. He eventually moved to XTRA Sports 690 in
San Diego, where he started what is now known as
The Jim Rome Show, or "The Jungle," with a loop of the instrumental intro of
Iggy Pop's song "
Lust for Life" and the instrumental intro of
Guns N' Roses' song "
Welcome to the Jungle" as the show's signature music. The show became
syndicated in 1996. It can now be heard on over 200 radio stations across the United States and Canada. In 1998, Rome released an album entitled
Welcome to the Jungle, which featured memorable
sound bites and music from the show.
In early 2003, Rome was interviewing friend
Mark Shapiro, executive producer of programming and production at ESPN, on his radio program. Unexpectedly, the two began to discuss a possible return of Rome to ESPN, and within a few months, Rome was officially rehired to host
Rome Is Burning. Rome openly attributes that interview as the impetus to his return to television.
In July 2006, Rome announced that his nationally syndicated radio show would remain on terrestrial radio instead of going to
satellite radio. The radio show is heard on more than 200 stations across the United States and Canada and has an audience of approximately 2.5 million.
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