What Happens (at the NAB Show) in Vegas

What Happens (at the NAB Show) in Vegas

Author: WJPZ February 21, 2024 Duration: 26:29
WJPZ at 50
HistoryEducation

Every year, the WJPZ Alumni Association, via the Berrell Award, sends two students to an industry event.  In 2023, GM Grace Denton and former sports director Joe Puccio went to Vegas for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show.  We sat down with them to hear about the experience.

We've met Grace in her previous episode with PD Maddie Doolittle.  So first we meet Joe and get his background.  And we hear about their summer 2023 positions- Grace at Taylor Swift's Republic Records (thanks Adam Eisenberg) and Joe at the Cape Cod Baseball League.

After coincidentally being on the same flight at Stephen "Tex" Kurtz, Grace and Joe hit the ground in Vegas running, checking out as much tech as possible from brands they knew, and some they didn't.   They described themselves as "kids in a candy store" with Grace zeroing in on overall station tech and Joe focused on the sports side.  But the experience was about so much more than tech.

In true Z89 networking fashion, Joe's Cape Cod League boss, WJPZ alum Dan Duva is the radio voice of the Las Vegas Golden Knights.  He took Grace and Joe out for a night on the town.   And while Joe wasn't yet 21, Grace had just had her birthday, which led to a wondeful wine selection.

You'll hear some great Vegas stories from Grace and Joe - from getting headshots, to receiving an invite to speak to a class in Atlanta, to eating gelato with some Citrus TV classmates who were in town for a different conference.

Overall, today's guests share what an amazing opportunity this was.  This year, GM Patrick Chambers and PD Ilana Epstein will be heading to Morning Show Boot Camp in San Diego!

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.

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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WJPZ at 50
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