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John Boccacino: Hello, and welcome back to the 'Cuse Conversations podcast. My name is John Boccacino, the communications specialist here at 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 . 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 . 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

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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. First thing we did, we parked, and that's the first place we went. My dad and I walked into McDonald's, and I get in line behind and LeRon Ellis, and we're done here. That was all I needed to know, and was fortunate enough to be accepted. I remember the day that I was and applying to four different schools. For a lot of people, and I understand, have to find their way and decide what they want to do and figure out what they want to be. Junior year of high school, I was pretty much set on what I wanted to do.

John Boccacino: It's remarkable, Pete. It's one of those things where when you find that passion, you pursue it wholeheartedly and obviously with the fact that you can land an on-air opportunity as a junior in high school just shows the promise and potential that you flash. Of course, you come to Syracuse, you come to Newhouse, and there is, again, outstanding faculty who've done this for decades, and they've really instill a lot of values in their students. There's a reason why Newhouse keeps being atop the rankings because they produce Peter Gianesini Cuse Conversations Podcast (Completed 07/09/19) Page 3 of 15 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here.

quality broadcasters year in and year out, but I want... before I go into the lessons from the physical broadcasting side of it-

Pete Gianesini: Sure, sure.

John Boccacino: ... it can't just be the golden pipes that carry the day for a broadcaster. You have to learn how to work hard, to chase down a story, and to do what it takes to bring the news of the day to your audience. That comes from a strong work ethic.

John Boccacino: We had talked off the air a little bit about how Syracuse really helped you gain a work ethic. Can you go on a little more detail about how you learned how to work hard and become someone with a solid work ethic thanks to your time at Syracuse.

Pete Gianesini: I've said this line to a lot of people before when I tell the story in particularly students just out of high school or even while at Syracuse or other places. I was raised wonderfully by loving parents and a great family, a community here in Central Connecticut, but I grew up in Syracuse. That's what I always tell people. I got there freshman year, and all the things that my dad wanted me to as an honors program so on and so forth, and everything was lined up, except I get there, I'm like, "Wait. They don't take attendance? You're kidding," and suddenly sort of having to grow up a little bit and, "Hey, can I do this? Can I go out here? Can I..." not that it was super party scene all the time, but just not really having the nose to the grindstone to figure it out. But then you get your grades, and that's a really quick wake-up call.

Pete Gianesini: After let's just say an animated conversation with my parents first allowing me to return, unfortunately, not falling to the level where I was no longer welcome, really got my act together to start my sophomore year, and things were going in the right direction grades-wise, schedule-wise, everything that came with it, and I started writing at WAER. Went to a meeting there. Some of my friends were already there, so on and so forth, and you picked up really quick what level of work ethic you have to be at, not just to compete, but to stay afloat.

Pete Gianesini: The dynamic there, and I know it's this way many other places, JPZ, and what at the time was UUTV, that, yes, it was competitive, but it was also supportive. Your friends would reach down and pull you up if you were lagging behind. They'd push you forward if you needed it. You would do the same for them in return. But at the end of the day, let's be honest. It's competitive. You want to get cleared for a game, he wants to get cleared for a game, she wants to get cleared for a game, wants to get that job when you graduate, and that collaborative yet competitive dynamic really set the table for candidly how life works, right?

John Boccacino: Oh, absolutely. You need to learn how to... No person is an island operating by themselves, and even if you're out there, if you're doing a live broadcast of a Peter Gianesini Cuse Conversations Podcast (Completed 07/09/19) Page 4 of 15 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here.

game, there's people that are back in studio making sure that your audio quality gets off the air and that the interviews sound good when you conduct them. It's not just... No one does this by themselves.

John Boccacino: It's great to hear that the collaboration was really instilled upon you, Pete, here at Newhouse where, you're right, there is a competitive reputation, but it's not like people are not willing to help each other out because, again, those professors instill in you that you need to learn to work together and to work as a team. You're not going to get anywhere in this business if you're just doing things rogue by yourself and not getting the support of your fellow teammates out there, so to hear that you learned how to become a team member is awesome here at Newhouse.

John Boccacino: What other lessons about broadcasting, about journalism, what else did Syracuse teach you that you might still use to this day with your career?

Pete Gianesini: Yeah, I think it was so much and the actual physical skills to do it, so I'm a little bit of a dinosaur in that it was editing tape, and when I say editing tape, you had a razor blade, you had a white grease pencil where you would leave the mark on the tape to make the cut. People listening to this will have no idea what that is, but that was incredibly challenging to do and do well.

Pete Gianesini: You really didn't get... There's no "undo" button. You cut that piece of tape the wrong way, you may or may not be able to put it back and fix it. It was a lot of live without a net in those things. It was funny because in my stop in local radio, the transition to digital editing had just begun, so I had moved off of reel-to-reel editing and going to digital for a good year and change. When I got the gig at ESPN, and again, as I said earlier, was just getting started, they were actually reel-to-reel still here in terms of their radio group. Thank goodness I had those skills from school because I had to fall back on it really quickly at that point.

John Boccacino: You mentioned your love affair of sports, and we're here talking with Pete Gianesini from ESPN. He's been working at the Worldwide Leader in Sports for 22 years as the senior director of digital audio programming. He oversees the Dan Le Batard podcast, amongst other offerings, and we will get to his roles with ESPN, but Pete, I want to go back to sports in Syracuse. You mentioned growing up in Bristol, Connecticut being a huge Syracuse sports fan. You come to campus, and LeRon Ellis and Billy Owens are in front of you in line at the McDonald's at Crouse, and that's gotta be a sign to you that you made the right decision, you're at the right place for your schooling. Just how special of a bond do you feel with Athletics, and are there any favorite moments for Syracuse Athletes from your time on campus?

Pete Gianesini: You know what's funny is as much as I went there as a huge fan of basketball, football was really what drove thing, and I mean, and it ties to exactly where we are today with the wonderful season we had last year and what we have in front of us this year, and I'll tell you why. The small high school that I went to was too Peter Gianesini Cuse Conversations Podcast (Completed 07/09/19) Page 5 of 15 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here.

small to have football. Of course, at the time, there wasn't Division I football in Connecticut. The closest you had was the Patriots to the north, and you had the Giants and the Jets obviously to the south.

Pete Gianesini: Here I am, huge sports fan, get to Syracuse. I had never attended a football game on any level in my life until my freshman year at Syracuse. I had never been to a high school football game, a pro football game of any kind. Here I go into the . It was Coach Mac's last season, and Pitt's coming in, and you've got... It was the last year before the start of the Big East Conference, and you're like, "Oh, my. This is awesome."

Pete Gianesini: Then Coach Mac leaves for the Patriots gig. Syracuse joins the Big East. Paul Pasqualoni comes in, and Florida comes to the Carrier Dome, number three team in the country, and the place is packed, so on and so forth. Never forget it, Kirby Dar Dar bringing back the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Florida's three and out, Syracuse scores another touchdown, and we're off to the races.

Pete Gianesini: What's unbelievable, so that was 1992, the University of Florida has never come north since, nor have they played a non-conference road game outside of the state of Florida since. That was a whoop, and it taught them a lesson for more than 25 years. As I see the buildup around Clemson coming up in the fall, I've got my hotel room, I've got my tickets, I'm so jacked for that whole weekend, and I'm telling a lot of the younger alums for as great as last year was, wait until you see the vibe around a game like that. I was fortunate enough I had that Florida game. I had number one come in, and God bless Chris Gedney. He catches the ball on the two. We run out of time. We almost beat them.

Pete Gianesini: Like to have that environment around the football program, and then when I was a recent alum, the McNabb years, so on and so forth, that gearing up on the weekend for a big football game, which we all missed for too long of a period of time in the past, and that's all I'll say about that, but for where we are now, I watched the other night the reveal of the jerseys, which are beautiful.

Pete Gianesini: Basketball's been wonderful, the national title. A group of us who work here at ESPN, we drove up for the celebration in the Dome. Left here at 2:30 in the afternoon. Got there just in time. Watched the thing, turn around, and drive back home, but we wanted to be part of it. It wasn't too long after that you'd walk up and down the parking lot here at ESPN, and it seemed like every fifth car either had the license plate frame with national champions or the bumper stickers or the Otto on top of the antenna or whatever it was. There's a lot of us here. It becomes evident during times like that.

John Boccacino: It's great, Pete, to hear the stroll down memory lane when it comes to Syracuse sports. Dino Babers has done a great job in getting the football program, making great strides to get back to where this program really does need to be.

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John Boccacino: I actually was at Rochester Alumni Club Event where they had four living members of the 1959 National Championship Team that were-

Pete Gianesini: Wow.

John Boccacino: ... addressing the crowd. They were talking about, my gosh, I mean, the stories of Ben Schwartzwalder and the double sessions and how hard they were pushed to really represent Syracuse. Ernie Davis obviously is a name that everybody, talk about someone taken way too early, he was such a tremendous impact on the football program. They had multiple running backs besides Ernie.

John Boccacino: But being in the presence of living legends like that really makes you appreciate both the past of Syracuse football and where things are going. I think that there's so much hype and there's so much excitement over this with regards of where the football program is moving forward. It was great to win the Camping World Bowl, but I saw projections the other day that they're saying that Syracuse football with the players they're bringing back that they do what they're going to do.

John Boccacino: One of the prognosticators had them going to the Orange Bowl and playing Michigan this upcoming year. I know that's getting way ahead of ourselves, but I think, Pete, that's gotta make you happy as someone who got to see the teams who were ranked as high has as... I think the '92 ream was ranked in the top 10 at the end of the year with a 10 and 2 record, and you saw some great... you saw the Dome, Pete, when it was the loud house for football. For that, I have to say I'm a little bit jealous that you got a chance to watch some of the peak of Syracuse football back in the day.

Pete Gianesini: Well, make sure you come in September because you'll get your share of that as well, I'm sure. You know what? Just being in that conversation, and it's funny because and not just because I work where I work and I do what I do, but I have access to the same tools anybody in the public does. You go on .com, and you see Football Power Index. There's people at other places to do similar things and write similar columns, and you see that.

Pete Gianesini: Last season going in, I'm like, "You know what? I'm looking at this, and the Football Power Index, eight of the games, it looks like we can win." I was like, "8 and 4. That could be amazing," and so on and so forth. Little did I know, it would... you can't account for that human element, you can't account for... we've all seen the viral videos, what goes on in the locker room, how the community has reached out.

Pete Gianesini: I'll be a honk here for my former boss, John Wildhack, who I think has come in and done an amazing job. I remember talking with when he was working here at ESPN, and he's been a wonderful friend and colleague over the years going back to when I was in school. I can't remember which transition it was, whether it was a coaching opening or whatever. He says to me, he goes, Peter Gianesini Cuse Conversations Podcast (Completed 07/09/19) Page 7 of 15 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here.

"The first thing you have to do is be in the conversation to be the best football team in the east," which people going way back will remember that's what it was all about, who was the top team in the northeast, the Lambert Trophy, everything that came with it.

Pete Gianesini: We can say that we've gotten there. It's us, it's Penn State in terms of you think of the top schools in the northeast, and then after that, man, the sky's the limit. For what they've created to take advantage of the building that they have, the field that they play on, and to build an offense and a strategy around that, man, let's go.

Pete Gianesini: Now, I will say this. I'm a big summer guy, so I will not sit here and say, "God, I can't wait. I wish it was September now," because I love sitting on the beach and just chilling out and having my summer, so I'm going to enjoy my summer, and then I'm going to enjoy my fall. I think it's going to be great.

John Boccacino: You mentioned the big Clemson game, a shameless plug here that Orange Central Homecoming and Reunion Weekend is September 12th to the 15th, highlighted, of course. There's 75 great programs taking place on campus, including milestone reunions, special interest in affinity reunions like WAER. We have all sorts of great... If you studied abroad, there's a reunion category for you if you were part of Syracuse Ambulance. I mean, the list goes on and on. There's so many great programs.

John Boccacino: Oh, by the way, September 14th, the defending national champions from Clemson come to the Dome to face Syracuse. It'll be the home opener for the Orange. That places is going to be rocking. Pete mentioned he's got his tickets secured. If you want to make sure to get your football tickets, we do have alumni tickets by going to orangecentral.syr.edu. You can be like Pete and be in the Dome for that game on the 14th. It's going to electric inside the Dome there for that game versus Clemson.

John Boccacino: Now, Pete, you mentioned ESPN. I want to go back to your work with ESPN, and especially your podcast experiences. You've been involved in some pretty high- ranking and nationally-successful podcasts including Dan Le Batard, and now, there's the Stugotz podcast who kicked off as well, STUpodity, which I think is a great name for a podcast out there. Stugotz is kind of a polarizing character when it comes to the world of podcasting. Dan Le Batard too has definitely somebody who is not afraid to ruffle some feathers and give some opinions that might be popular and some that might be a little bit controversial. How have you seen the growth of podcasting at ESPN?

Pete Gianesini: Sure. I was fortunate. My first 17 years here, I was actively involved with ESPN radio, the over-the-air radio network. For a time, I was producer of Mike & Mike when we created that show and launched it and worked with Dan Patrick, , Mike Tirico, Scott Van Pelt, and helped, not necessarily develop personalities because all those guys I told you have them, they didn't need me Peter Gianesini Cuse Conversations Podcast (Completed 07/09/19) Page 8 of 15 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here.

to help build them, but to refine them and to direct them and to do it in a way that was most effective in a traditional ratings-based get-the-quarter-hour radio environment.

Pete Gianesini: Then after those first 17 years, I was asked to move over into our digital business, which is a little bit of the opposite, and it's more specific, and it's more refined. The listening experience is almost always one individual by himself, by herself. You're in the car. You're on the treadmill, and it's in a much more intimate environment. You could be much more specific and much more targeted in your conversations. It comes down to, today, if you're doing a radio show, you need to be talking about what's in the news that day, so what's in the news? NBA, free agencies coming, Yankees are hitting home runs left and right, whatever's on the sports calendar on a given day.

Pete Gianesini: In a podcast, it's a little bit more about what is interesting to you, what is interesting within your genre. We have a football show. We have a hockey show. We have a fantasy football show. We have a show. We have a draft-specific show. In terms of fracturing this sports avidity, at this point, not everybody is fan of every sport all the time, and so you're able to sort of zoom in. We did a hockey podcast over the weekend. I don't know how much time this morning is spending on last week's NHL draft, but they don't have to because we have that in the podcast space.

Pete Gianesini: Then the other part is for the personalities to tell stories, to go outside the box. STUpodity's a great example of that. I don't know that anything he's doing in that podcast works in a ratings-based quarter-hour "someone jumps in their car and turns that on and they immediately get it and play along," but if you're a fen of the Dan Le Batard radio show, these satellite podcasts that the Le Batard & Friends Network has created align really nicely with the show without having to necessarily compete with it.

John Boccacino: What was it like, Pete, going back to, being the original producer of Mike & Mike? Those were two guys who were sports role models, the fact that you could bring together two polar opposites. You get to the burley , the guy who was a man's man, who played in the NFL, who when he tells you about what it's like in the locker room, you feel like you were there and you can smell the stench after a game. You feel like you were in the trenches with the big guy.

John Boccacino: Then you get , who his sports accomplishments were playing tennis, and he seemed to be much more of the polar opposite type of character compared to Golic. It seems like that show work because it was two opposite people having conversations, calling each other out on opinions that they didn't believe in, but it worked because the audience ate it up, and it was an awesome format. I think that that really seems like, to me, that... you can go to and Chris Russo, Mike and the Mad Dog, as being original sports voices as well where it's two people having conversations, but Mike & Mike I think

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brought it even more mainstream, brought it into people's houses that maybe wouldn't have listened to sports talk in the first place.

John Boccacino: Do you think that... How cool was it to be a part of that show that really, in some opinions, seemed to launch a lot of this sports talk revolution?

Pete Gianesini: I think there's a couple things there. What was... It starts with... It was built around those guys' authentic personalities and what is important to them, what wasn't important to them. What I mean when I say "wasn't important to them," that they don't necessarily need to take seriously. Many people have said before me, and I won't know who the original person who came up with this quote is, but sports is supposed to be the toy department. God knows all of the things going on in the world that we have to deal with. Sports is the point where you could escape from that, you could get away from that, and it can't always be intense and arguing with each other. Sometimes it's just fun. Sometimes, "Wow, that dunk," or, "Wow, that home run," or the jabbing that you have with rivals for another team, I mean, that's the fun of it.

Pete Gianesini: In the very early days of the show, when I started, it was on four radio stations. There was no TV. There was no satellite radio. I could tell you, it was , Hartford, Norfolk, and were the four places you could get the show. There wasn't a lot of pressure in terms of we could try stuff, and if we screw it up, it wasn't going to resonate and be a Twitter threat on freezing cold takes the next day. None of that stuff existed, so we could try things and create.

Pete Gianesini: I remember Mike Golic very early on, everything was... He was very comfortable making fun of himself. Greeny would say a three-syllable word, and Golic would pretend like he didn't know what it meant, and we'd have fun with that, unless it was football. This was the part where the Journalism 101 that comes from of all places what we were doing in the mornings with Mike & Mike was Mike never compromised that he was an expert in football. He was the captain at Notre Dame, played nine years in the NFL, lined up alongside Reggie White, was teammates with Dan Marino that his football knowledge was and is as strong as anybody out there regardless of rings, titles, what have you. We never compromised on that.

Pete Gianesini: Everything else was sort of up for grabs in terms of fodder for comedy or humor, and that all made sense. Little by little, I think people gravitated to that, like these guys aren't trying to be something. They're just doing what they do. They're observing things the way we did, and really, built a nice following in the early years.

Pete Gianesini: I'll take this a little bit of a right turn in that, talking about not taking sports too seriously, I remember preparing for a morning show where we were expecting Michael Jordan to come back to the NBA. Remember, he was owning the Wizards, and was he going to come back and play? For us, that's the biggest

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possible story you could ever do. I was producing the show. We're on the air, and we're churning along, and they flew a plane into the World Trade .

Pete Gianesini: Suddenly, you remember that you have a journalism degree, and we've gotta figure this out. All the stuff that I thought was kind of in my rear-view mirror as we were talking about basketball and and what team was unveiling new uniforms or whatever that we took as the most serious thing you could ever do, and obviously, the imposition on us is negligible compared to the grand scheme of what was going on in the world at the time.

Pete Gianesini: But we didn't try to act like we knew what was going on or why this was happening or what it meant going forward. They were... I remember Mike Golic going on the air saying, "I'm just a dad trying to figure out what to tell my kids." Greeny said this on the last show they did a couple of years ago when we wrapped the show up, the response and the engagement and the emails and the conversations we had with people around something like that. It's hard to remember now that when the dust had settled a little bit how that sort of brought people together when things like that happened back then.

Pete Gianesini: Our little corner of the world in sports allowed us to redefine, at least at the time, the role that sports was supposed to play in people's lives. Since then, it's gone sideways a little bit, and I think it's recentering a little bit now, but as I look back on that time and that era, what the world was like during that duration of time, 2000, 2001, 2002, it's certainly not about a radio show at that point, but you asked me about my memories. I sort of recenter around sort of what life was like during that timeframe that sometimes we forget too easily.

John Boccacino: Pete, that's a great anecdote. It's a great story to keep things in mind that sports is just a, yeah, it's a distraction, it's a fun hobby to pour yourself into, but it's not life and death in those moments when sports and the... I remember I was a junior here at Syracuse when 9/11 happened, and nobody-

Pete Gianesini: Wow.

John Boccacino: There was such a sense of uncertainty. I mean, our Newhouse classes were like a Petri dish where you would gather and talk about what we know. You actually were almost felt like you were trying to piece together just what was happening and the impact of it. The professors, yeah, they took time if you needed to go back and be with your family or just to grieve or mourn, you could do that, but it was also really a chance to use it as a learning experience for, "Okay, there is this great turmoil that's happening here. What do we know? What can our skills as being student journalists tell us about how to proceed with the news during a very sensitive time where the world was on edge?"

John Boccacino: Again, it gave you that perspective too of, "Whatever we're doing here with sports especially, it's not life or death. It's just a fun hobby," but people are passionate about their sports, and they're passionate about their podcasting Peter Gianesini Cuse Conversations Podcast (Completed 07/09/19) Page 11 of 15 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here.

too. I know that ESPN's podcast have grown exponentially. I believe the figure I saw was a 43% growth in total downloads of its podcast year to year, which this medium has really been exploding the podcasting industry.

John Boccacino: It begs the question, what do you think is next for the world of sports talk and ? Where are things going to be going in over the next five or 10 years if you put on your... you looked into your crystal ball?

Pete Gianesini: I think it's tied along with as technology evolves, even start with what's going on here at our company, you could watch ESPN on television, you could watch it on your phone, ESPL+, which offers up more content offerings. Then even in the audio space, I have a young child, and I know a lot of the stuff that goes on in my house in the morning is with smart speakers, whether it's Amazon Alexa, whether it's Google Home, to provide more short-form content in that way. I know that on an afternoon on the weekend, if I'm out doing some work in the yard or sitting on the deck, I just yell, "Hey, Alexa, play the ," and the game comes up. I don't know what channel it's on. I don't know the number. I don't know frequency. I just know I just yell at this thing, "Play the Yankees," and the Yankee game comes on. I think that continues to evolve.

Pete Gianesini: I know siting in my car with the TuneIn app listening to the Syracuse-Pitt football game last year, that's a game I otherwise wouldn't have any way to follow. I'm on the go running errands. I'm sitting in the car. It's pouring. But I knew it was approximately the time where the game was coming down the home stretch. I just pull it up on my phone and go, and it's how I want it, when I want it, where I want it.

Pete Gianesini: I think that's really the short version of where everything continues to go. I don't know that it's something that's in the future. I think it's already here. I just think it'll get better and more robust as the technology catches up, more Wi-Fi, more places, stronger cell signals. Everybody knows that dead spot in their commute where things cut out. If that gets figured out, I think it's going to open up far more content offerings for people.

John Boccacino: My guest today is Pete Gianesini, who has worked at ESPN for more than 20 years. He does great work with their audio programming, their podcasting. You heard him earlier talk about being a producer involved with the launch of Mike & Mike back in 2000. Pete has a great story to tell. We hope you've enjoyed listening to his advice so far and reminiscing down memory lane about his experiences here at Syracuse and in the world of journalism.

John Boccacino: Pete, obviously, Newhouse still has a great reputation. People still want to come to school here to study the craft, to become journalists. I feel like one of the benefits of our network is people love to share advice, share their best practices. If you were addressing students who wanted to get into this industry, maybe someone's been accepted to Newhouse, but they're having some

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questions about how they actually go about breaking into the field, what advice would you give to aspiring journalists?

Pete Gianesini: I think there's a couple different things. I mean, there's many different things, but two that I particular zoom in on based on my experience both when I was a student and in my career since then is, number one, the need for feedback. I've oftentimes had a soon-to-be graduate, recent graduate, they send me along their tape. I say tape. It's a link, and you click it. It's not all that complicated.

Pete Gianesini: I try to listen as much as I can, and I tell people, "If you just want to be told it's great, give your reel to your aunt. She's going to love it. She's going to think it's the greatest thing she ever heard. She's going to tell you how wonderful it is, so on and so forth, and you're going to feel good about yourself, but I don't know how much better you're going to get."

Pete Gianesini: What I loved about my time, like when I was WAER, the worst critics were each other, like, "Hey, that phone line really wasn't that good," or, "That question was really long-winded," or, "You could've edited that a little bit more tightly," or, "It was just too long." Understanding that when you get feedback like that, it is intended to make you better. I had tons of people who did that for me as I was aspiring to be on the air. I try to do the same now and give people one specific thing. "Hey, I think it was one question too many," or, "The music choice that you picked for that piece, it was really loud, and it was hard to hear what you were saying. You might want to rethink that," like if there's one takeaway.

Pete Gianesini: Then it's obviously be willing to receive the feedback. We don't need an excuse. We don't need to know that you were rushed. We don't need to know that you had to get it done before you had to go to class. You're not accountable to me for that. It's just, "Hey, here's something to keep in mind for the next time, and oh, by the way, if this one's counter to what your boss is telling you, do what your boss is telling because they're the ones writing you the paycheck. I'm just one person's opinion."

Pete Gianesini: I say to people get feedback from multiple people. I'm not always right. I don't know everything. God knows I've tried things on the air that haven't come out the way I wanted to do it. The more people you can hear from that can give you reliable, actionable feedback that you could take into account to make you better at any stage of your career is the most important thing.

Pete Gianesini: Then the last thing I'll say just because it's a passion point for me, I went to Syracuse in Newhouse because in my high school yearbook, good luck being the next , good lucking be the next , good luck being whoever, whoever, whoever.

Pete Gianesini: I was broadcast partners with at Syracuse who's going on to be one of the premier play-by-play announcers in the country in a variety of sports, and that wasn't my path. I did Crunch Games in Syracuse for a year. I was a backup Peter Gianesini Cuse Conversations Podcast (Completed 07/09/19) Page 13 of 15 Transcript by Rev.com This transcript was exported on Jul 09, 2019 - view latest version here.

announcer for the hockey team in Binghamton a little bit. I worked in Hartford for a couple years, and then the opportunity that availed itself at ESPN was, as we say in radio, the other side of the glass.

Pete Gianesini: When that opportunity came up, I had to really think about how important was it for me to be the name on the radio, the voice that people hear. Was I that good? Was I great? Was I good? Was it... I wound up with a producing career getting to do amazing things, , the , and working at ESPN and everything that comes with Worldwide Leader in Sports, all of that. It's been a wonderful blessing of a career that has provided for my family, has allowed me to meet amazing people, be on the field to see the Yankees win the World Series, which young-me just thinks it's pinnacle of life that that would have happened.

Pete Gianesini: For those who are interested in a career, feature journalism, documentary productions, sports talk radio, yeah, it may not get the headline in the paper and leading things like alumni newsletters, so on and so forth, it is an amazing career to help other people find their voice.

Pete Gianesini: I remember one time saying a line in a talent's ear, and then they credit me on the air as they're giving it. I'm like, "No. You're the talent. If you think it's funny, use it. If you think it's lousy, don't use it." Being in that position where some of the biggest names in sports trusted me with either a fact, an idea, a guest booking, a topic suggestion where they're the ones who are going to be held accountable if it falls flat is really a wonderful responsibility and a wonderful blessing.

Pete Gianesini: For those who maybe don't have, I think you said, the golden pipes or the skillset to be the most telegenic person and be the next Marv Albert or Bob Costas, the world has opened up so many other options in sports broadcasting and in journalism in general that are incredibly empowering and fulfilling. I challenge anyone to say that a job like that is less-than. I talk with a lot of kids, and I say kids, even recent graduates who are at that fork in the road trying to decide which path to take, and those are the conversations I enjoy the most because I've lived it, I've done it, and I've been incredibly lucky and grateful to have been along for that ride.

John Boccacino: Well, Pete, we are incredibly grateful and fortunate that you took the time to share your story and share some words of wisdom here on the 'Cuse Conversations podcast. Your career is far from over with. There's a lot more great memories and accomplishments you're going to have. Whether it's with ESPN and wherever your future takes you, we wish you nothing but the best. Thanks for coming on today.

Pete Gianesini: Thanks, John. Look forward to seeing you this fall.

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John Boccacino: Yeah, definitely. Come back to Orange Central. We know you'll be there for Homecoming. We encourage all of our alumni to come back and get their tickets again for the football game and all of the other 75-plus great programs at orangecentral.syr.edu.

John Boccacino: This 'Cuse Conversations podcast is available everywhere you go to get your podcasts. You can find us by going to alumni.syr.edu/cuseconversations. You can also find us on anchor.fm/cuseconversations, and also on Spotify, on Google Play, on iTunes, and everywhere else you go to find your podcasts. My name is John Boccacino. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by the 'Cuse Conversations podcast.

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