Sue Mandel and Rob Weingarten,'85, a Match Made at WJPZ

Sue Mandel and Rob Weingarten,'85, a Match Made at WJPZ

Author: WJPZ April 10, 2023 Duration: 24:22
WJPZ at 50
HistoryEducation

Note: Thanks to Newhouse Professor Tina Perkins, WJPZ Class of 1993, for editing this episode of the pod.

 

Sue Mandel and Rob Weingarten may be the first marriage to come out of WJPZ.  Members of the Class of 1985, they met on campus when they realized they went to rival high schools.  In fact, in Sue's pictures of her high school boyfriends playing sports - Rob's often in the picture as the opponent!   35 years, several moves, and two kids later, he's still in the picture.

 

Today's WJPZ power couple were station leaders when we went to the FM dial.  Sue's news department covered everything from the AIDS epidemic to the Grand Slam murder in Syracuse - yes, we have another Denny's reference in this episode.  Rob's sports staff covered everything they could - including the high school basketball games of Felisha Legette-Jack, now the head coach of the Syracuse Women's team.

 

Sue decided she did not want to pursue the on-air route, so she got into the sales side of things, working remotely waaay before it was en vogue.  Rob's sports career included work at WFAN, and helming sports stations in DC, St. Louis, and Tampa.   He also began traveling for work - commuting to some of these gigs from Florida....as these Syracuse grads quickly fell in love with the Tampa climate.

 

Now, Rob works for the Gem Shopping Network - serving high end clientele with the hosting skills he first honed at WJPZ.

 

And you won't want to miss the story of an on-campus concert with James Brown, and what that had to do with New York State raising the legal drinking age to 21.

 

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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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

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