Jason Palladino, aka Jay Sweet, from the Class of 1997, always approaches a new gig with a sense of fearlessness. So it's no surprise that he would be our first alumnus to land a new job because of the WJPZ at 50 podcast. More on that later in the episode.
As a Solvay native, SU was always on Jay's radar. As the first of his immediate family to go to college, he was actually in pre-med, before the media bug bit him thanks to WJPZ. Soon, he took on the roles of assistant music director and morning show co-host, among others.
In fact, with the motto of "I'll sleep when I'm dead," Jay pulled an insane schedule for awhile - doing nights and overnights at WHEN radio, then coming up the Hill to be on Z89's morning show. After awhile, something had to give, and he parted ways with WHEN. So naturally his next move was to pester the program director at (then separately owned) WSYR and see what he could land there. As he got more opportunities there, it seemed the right time to leave WJPZ.
After hitting a ceiling at WSYR, Jay wanted to do more. So he packed up and headed to New York to work in operations for Westwood One. In fact, WJPZ connections helped him easily land the gig. But 9/11 really affected him, and he needed to return home to Central New York. This time it was for television, helping build News 10 Now, the 24 hour news station in Syracuse.
Next, Jay takes us through his career from Albany to Orlando. Next, he'd pack up his wife and five kids for a return to New York, before heading back south to Atlanta.
We had to edit out the part of this podcast where Jay talks about how great his gig is in Atlanta and how he doesn't plan on leaving, because that's just what happened. Jay heard John Ferracane's episode of this podcast, talking about needing help at News Nation, the new 24 hour cable news channel. Jay thought he and John could form a partnership or pipeline for off-air talent. But the next thing you know, Jay was flying to Chicago to interview for an operations manager role. In telling the story, we hear a lesson about finding an employer that knows your value and worth.
To wrap up, we bring it back around to the WJPZ lessons that have served Jay well in his career, and a hilarious morning show prank of our own Neon Dion Summers.
The WJPZ at 50 Podcast Series is produced by Jon Gay, Class of 2002, and his podcast production agency, JAG in Detroit Podcasts.
Want to stay in the loop with WJPZ Alumni events? Subscribe to our newsletter on the right hand side of the page at http://wjpzalumni.org/
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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