Peter Gianesini Podcast Transcript
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This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here. John Boccacino: Hello, and welcome back to the 'Cuse Conversations podcast. My name is John Boccacino, the communications specialist here at Syracuse University in the Office of Alumni Engagement. I'm also a proud 2003 graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications studying broadcast journalism. I produce alumni profiles here at Syracuse for the Office of Alumni Engagement. I also am pleased to be leading the way with our podcasting efforts, the 'Cuse Conversations podcast, to try to tell the stories of some of the successful alums out there that are really making a difference and who also happen to bleed Orange. John Boccacino: Today's guest, I am please to bring on someone who knows the world of podcasting extremely well. He knows broadcast journalism. He's made an impact working at ESPN for the last 22 years as the senior director of digital audio programming for the Worldwide Leader in Sports. His name is Pete Gianesini, a class of 1994 Alumnus of Newhouse who studied broadcast journalism. Pete, thanks so much for taking the time to come on the podcast. Pete Gianesini: Thanks for having me. Good to catch up with you again. John Boccacino: Always great to bring on a fellow Newhouse alum, someone who has a passion for storytelling and for broadcasting. Pete, you heard during my introduction, we're talking about the 'Cuse Conversations podcast and telling stories of alumni around the world who have really made a difference. Your story is quite fascinating, and I think I want to give our listeners a little insight into your story. You've been at ESPN now for what, 22 years? Pete Gianesini: That's right. That's right. It doesn't seem like it, but boy, it's flown by and evolved greatly. John Boccacino: Obviously, ESPN and broadcasting has changed dramatically over the last two- plus decades. I guess let's start with that. How did you get started with ESPN? What roads led you to land a job with what at the time... now there's a little more competition, but ESPN still has been the standard bearer for sports broadcasting. How did you get your start with ESPN? Pete Gianesini: Sure. Well, the short version of it is that I became really aware of ESPN at an early age because I was born in Bristol, Connecticut. I was... The hospital was born in's literally just up the street, so I was aware of ESPN pretty much day one just sort of being a local resident. I, upon graduating Syracuse, my first job was with WHEN radio in Syracuse. The year I graduated was the year they announced that the Crunch were coming as an expansion franchise, so I worked during doing the pregame intermission, post-game on the radio in Syracuse for a year. Pete Gianesini: Before landing an opportunity back here at home working in Hartford, Connecticut producing a morning show doing some sports, doing some production, sort of Jack of all trades, like any entry-level radio job is. I had a Peter Gianesini Cuse Conversations Podcast (Completed 07/09/19) Page 1 of 15 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here. unique opportunity to... I interviewed for a position at WFAN radio in New York. It was a very part-time spot, and person who was in charge at the time, Eric Spitz, who interviewed me cautioned me, and he said, "Listen. I don't have a lot of hours for you. I can't justify you moving to New York just to work a shift here, a shift there, maybe a weekend." I said, "If you think I'm good enough and you can use me, like that's my problem. I'll figure that out." Pete Gianesini: My grandparents lived in Brooklyn at the time, so on and so forth. He says to me, "Do you live anywhere near ESPN?" I said, "I could pretty much throw a rock at it." He says, "Well, I'll tell you what. A buddy of mine's running the place up there. I'm going to get you an interview with them because they're pretty much hiring for the same thing for their production assistants, and if they hire you, great. You're right there. You don't have to move. You don't have to pay rent. You don't have to do any of that stuff. If not, then you'll have the gig here, and you can figure it out." Pete Gianesini: I got the job interview here at ESPN in the summer of '97 and got the gig working Saturdays and Sundays on top of Monday through Friday in Hartford. At the time, ESPN radio was just Saturday/Sunday night programming. I think they came on at 6:00 or 7:00 and went off the air at 1:00 a.m., and that was really much all they were, but they were in the midst of rolling out plans to expand to seven nights a week and what would eventually become a 24/7 radio network. I was very much "right place, right time" because as you were expanding that rapidly, they've got lots of work for you, so I was getting 60, 80 hours a week, and lots of great experience. Then little by little, the position grew from there. John Boccacino: One of the best parts, Pete, about having a Newhouse degree is the connections, obviously. There's the joke about the Newhouse mafia, but people really do look out for each other, take pride in hiring other Orange alums, and the strength of the network is tremendous and getting people... People love to hire fellow Syracuse graduates because they know that they're going to have an outstanding work ethic, they're going to have a nose for news and for storytelling, and they're going to be pretty good at it because they've learned from some of the best in the business. John Boccacino: Your connection with Newhouse, what made you want to come to Syracuse University? You're a kid growing up, Bristol, Connecticut. I know it's not the eastern seaboard and you're not going to the opposite side of the country to go to school, but still, Syracuse is not quite necessarily right down the road. How did you end up settling on Syracuse as the place you wanted to hone this craft? Pete Gianesini: Sure. This was an easy one. There were two things that happened at the same time that came together. One, despite my location, I was already a huge fan of Syracuse basketball. When I was in high school with Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, I remember watching on TV the game against Georgetown when John Thompson got thrown out and just loved the style of play, the up-tempo, the Peter Gianesini Cuse Conversations Podcast (Completed 07/09/19) Page 2 of 15 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here. alley-oop dunks, everything that came with it. I was a fan in terms of athletics and watching basketball. Pete Gianesini: Then I played sports in High School poorly, like spent a lot of time on the bench. I played basketball, ran track, did a number of different things a little bit. I did not play soccer, but all my buddies were playing soccer. My junior year, I was the team manage/score keeper, what have you. One of my jobs after the game was to call the local media with the score, couple of headlines. They'd put it in the paper, so on and so forth. Pete Gianesini: At the time, Bristol, Connecticut actually had its own a.m. radio station, WBIS. They were one of the people that I called. The person working there says, "I'll tell you what. Why don't you write up a little bit of a recap, and we'll do this live on the radio." I'm like, "You're kidding me, like two things, one, what kind of radio station is this, and two, oh, my god, I'm going to be on the radio." Pete Gianesini: Called my mom. Walked her through how to put a cassette in the radio and told her what time to hit record and play and all of this. From the main office at school, I called into this radio station. Next thing you know, I'm given a report on local high school sports. That turned into kind of a semi-regular gig, and here I am, a junior in high school. Pete Gianesini: I go to my guidance counselor's office, and I'm like, "Okay, this is what I want to do. I want to do sports on the radio. What are some places I should be looking for?" She says, "Well, I'm going to make this really easy for you. You're wearing it," because I had a Syracuse basketball sweatshirt on. Weird hue of orange, colors were off. Back then in Connecticut, they didn't have fanatics and stuff, you could buy stuff left and right. Pete Gianesini: But anyway, it sort of worked. I got home, and I said, "Dad. Guess what?" We get the campus tour, and we come up to school. At the time, there was a McDonald's in South Crouse.