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 long tenure at ESPN, and now in his role as newly-elected President of the Syracuse University Alumni Association.
Pete grew up in Connecticut, where his dream job was play-by-play for the Hartford Whalers. When he got to campus, he worked at WAER, eventually doing games for the Orangemen, but he always maintained friendships with his classmates at WJPZ. And his working at one wasn't a result of a rivalry; it was just a matter with 1990's technology, he simply didn't have the bandwidth to do both.
In fact, after graduation, Pete began working for the new expansion hockey team in town, the Syracuse Crunch. He lived right off campus, giving him access to a "super senior year" of sorts, going to games, Faegans, and hanging out with the WJPZ Class of 1995 and lifelong friends he made there.
Next, Pete returned home to work in the Hartford market, and began doing part time work at fledgling ESPN radio. He found himself at a crossroads when "The Worldwide Leader" offered him full time work. It would mean giving up the on-air side to go into production. He talks about that choice, but also how he was given a chance to live out a play-by-play dream, of sorts, before crossing over.
Pete starting producing the overnight show on ESPN, then moved up to mornings, where he was with Mike and Mike for the majority of their run. He then moved to the digital audio side, really ramping up ESPN's efforts in the podcasting space. Earlier this year, Pete was part of the latest round of cuts at the company.
And while he's looking for his next full-time opportunity, "Professor Pete" is teaching at nearby Qunnipiac, and diving head-first into his new role as SU Alumni Association President.
Throughtout today's episode, you'll hear Pete's passion for teaching and paying it forward. So it's no surprise he's such a great fit for our group. It was WJPZ Alumni Alex Brewer and Molly Nelson who convinced him to come to his first Banquet in 2020, and he talks about what an amazing experience it was. Now, when you ask him how he met a Syracuse person, he has no idea if it was as a student or an alum.
As a bonus, at the end of our episode, we've included a clip from when Pete was on Jag's podcast "The Jag Show" back in 2020. Jag asked him, in all his time at ESPN, if he'd ever been starstruck by an athlete or celeb. It happened once, and Pete shared the story.
Pete is looking for his next opportunity. You can find him:
On Twitter (or X) here: https://twitter.com/peteg860
On LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pgianesinijr/
Or via email at pgianesinijr@gmail.com.
The WJPZ at 50 Podcast Series is produced by Jon Gay, Class of 2002, and his podcast production agency, JAG in Detroit Podcasts.
Sign up for email alerts whenever we release a new episode here: jagindetroit.com/WJPZat50
Want to be a guest on the pod or know someone else who would? Email Jag: jag@jagindetroit.com.
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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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