A Short Message from Jag

A Short Message from Jag

Author: WJPZ February 25, 2023 Duration: 1:52

Email Jag: jag@jagindetroit.com

Hey everyone, it’s Jag with a couple of quick announcements about the podcast.

First and foremost, I can’t thank you enough for your incredible support of this project. Thank you to those who have come on the show, those of you who have listened and shared it, everyone who has helped me put this together, and anyone who’s dropped me a nice message about it.  And a special thanks to two folks who aren’t in our podcast credits.  Matt Friedman, who posts the teasers for each episode to our WJPZ alumni Facebook page and has connected me with so many of our great alumni. And Josh Wolff, who hooked me up with many of our more recent alums.

I originally planned on doing 50 episodes of the show to commemorate 50 years of WJPZ, but the response was overwhelming – far beyond anything I could have ever expected We’ve got over SEVENTY interviews either recorded or scheduled, and I assume more to come after Banquet.  If you have any additional guests for the show – have them reach out to me – my email address is in this episode’s show notes.

That said, we are going to change up the release schedule.   One of the reasons I wanted to do this show was to build excitement for the upcoming Banquet.  So for the week leading up to the event, we’ll be releasing a new interview every weekday.

Once we all head home from Syracuse, though, this podcast will pull back to a once-a-week schedule, with new episodes dropping every Monday.   Simply put, while this has been a labor of love, it’s been a lot of labor and a lot of love, and I can’t keep up the pace we’ve been on.  I do have a business to run…and my wife misses me….I think.   By the way, thanks to Ellen for her support when I’ve disappeared into my office on nights and weekends for a few months.

I’ve learned so much about the great history of WJPZ with this project, and I hope you have too.  One thing I already knew, which continues to be hammered home with every episode, is what an incredible family we are.   So again, thank you for your continued support of this project, and I can’t wait to see you in Syracuse.

Want to be on the show? Email JAG at jag@jagpodcastproductions.com

Connect with the WJPZ Alumni Association: https://wjpzalumniassociation.org/


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For fifty years, the student-run airwaves of Syracuse University's WJPZ at 50 have been more than a radio station; they've been a launchpad. This oral history project captures that legacy not through dry facts, but through the voices that built it. Each episode is a conversation with a different alumnus, from the pioneers of the 1970s to recent graduates, tracing how their hands-on experience in what's called the "world's greatest media classroom" shaped careers in broadcasting and far beyond. You'll hear personal stories of late-night broadcasts, technical mishaps turned into triumphs, and the forging of lifelong bonds that created a unique professional family spanning generations. This podcast digs into the real, often messy, work of learning by doing, revealing how a campus station became an enduring institution. Tune in for a collection of fifty interviews that together form a living archive, celebrating the people, not just the programming, behind five decades of student-led radio.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

WJPZ at 50
Podcast Episodes
Emmy Winning Reporter Eva Zymaris, Class of 2014 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:18
Eva Zymaris, Class of 2014, has gone from Z89 News Director to Emmy winning reporter in New Haven Connecticut. And she credits so much of her career success to the WJPZ family.This New Jersey news aficionado quickly lear…
Sal Capaccio - from WJPZ to the Bills Sideline and Damar Hamlin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:16
Today you will hear two incredible stories from Sal Capaccio, Class of 1995. The first is his own "origin story." At 37 years old, he quit his job to follow his dream. He and his wife moved back to his hometown of Buffal…
"Hot Shot" Scotty Bergstein, Class of 1989 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:30
Today's guest gobbled up every airshift he could, and now makes his living directing commercials, after learning under Ridley Scott.Scott Bergstein came to Syracuse, like many, chasing the sportscaster dream. When he saw…
MTV's Matt Gehring and SNY's Sam Kandell, Class of 2018 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:28
WJPZ has formed many deep bonds and friendships - and that is certainly the case for Matt Gehring and Sam Kandell, who served as PD and GM respectively, for the Class of 2018.As you'll hear, their origin stories differ g…
Julie Bruno, '85. on Reconnecting as an Alum [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:09
A few days before Banquet 2023, Jag sat down with fellow Massachusetts Native Julie Bruno from the Class of 1985. Julie's from the small town of Mansfield, and was the first in her family to go to college, and quickly we…
"Pop Pop" Mike Murphy, Class of 1995 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:28
(Thanks to alum and Newhouse professor Tina Perkins for editing this week's episode.)Mike Murphy, from the WJPZ Class of 1995, has gone from Z89 sports to the face of sports in the state of New Hampshire, having called m…
Pete Gianesini, '94, SU Alum Prez and Friend of WJPZ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:29
Pete Gianesini, '94, did not technically work at WJPZ as a student. But nobody would doubt that he's an adopted member of the Z89 family. He's supported the station and its members from his time as a student, through his…
"Goofy" Bette Kestin, Class of 1993 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
"Goofy" Bette Kestin, Class of 1993, and currently Old Navy's Director of Media Strategy and Investment, is today's guest. This New Jersey native did not join WJPZ until her junior year, but quickly made up for last time…
Ben Green '85 On Keeping WJPZ's Teaching Legacy Alive [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:33
Today's guest is the always passsionate Ben Green, aka Ben G, aka Mr. R&B, from the Class of 1985. He takes us from humble beginnings at Syracuse (including changing majors when he couldn't afford to rent equipment and b…