One of the main reasons John J. Nance seems so comfortable on the air in any broadcast situation is the little-known fact that he's been a professional broadcaster since the early 1960's! Starting in radio while it was still a dominant force in American broadcasting, John worked as a classical music announcer for KAIM-AM/FM in Honolulu during a year at the University of Hawaii. On transferring to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, John joined the staff of KLIF-AM, the dominant "Top-40" rock station in 1965 where he worked as both a newsman and a part-time DJ in the wild top-40 days of Beatlemania, the Beach Boys, Four Seasons, and many more.

Dallas was a usual stop for most of the major groups, and KLIF was the co-sponsor for many a rock concert in those formative days, but news emerged as John's dominant interest. In 1966 he joined the staff of WFAA Radio and TV (Channel 8) as, first, a radio newsman, later to be utilized on the TV side as well. With three years in the saddle, his voice became a familiar sound on the airwaves of North Texas and, at night on frequency 820 (clear channel WFAA 50 thousand watts), 37 states.

Entry into Air Force pilot training in 1970 put the broadcasting on hold, but his seven solid years of experience (and some three thousand newscasts) became the foundation for his "position" in the eighties as the most articulate and popular source for radio and TV news shows to call on aviation subjects, and led to his joining ABC and Good Morning America.