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10 Questions with ... Gordon Deal
June 13, 2006
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NAME:Gordon DealTITLE:Host, The Wall Street Journal This MorningSTATION:Nationally syndicated, plus XM and Sirius satellite radioMARKET:NationalBORN:Englewood, New JerseyRAISED:East Brunswick, New Jersey
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Long time radio reporter in New York City and New Jersey with brief stints in newspaper and television.
1. How did you end up in the radio business?
I started doing play-by-play at my college radio station (WRSU, 88.7 FM) for Rutgers University football, basketball, baseball and soccer. I've always enjoyed sports, and I figured since I wasn't going to be a pro athlete, I felt this would be a fun way to keep to stay involved. Plus, I was a lousy college student until I found this calling.
2. What are you passionate about?
My family, especially my two kids.
3. You've worked as newsman, writer, and behind the scenes as Metro's New York bureau chief. Now, you're the host. What do you miss, and what are you happy to live without, from your former management job?
I miss some of the newsroom camaraderie, especially the satisfaction of a job well done by an entire newsroom on election night. I also miss traveling to different cities to do play-by-play. From my management job with Metro/Shadow, I'm happy to live without middle-of-the-night phone calls from employees calling out sick for their morning drive shifts. Or requests from program directors who wanted a new traffic, news, or sports reporter from me because the morning show ratings were tanking. This made PDs feel as if they were making meaningful changes. Hello? Have you listened to your show lately? The traffic girl isn't the problem!
4. You serve as one of the regular PA announcers for Knicks (and Liberty) games at Madison Square Garden. What's the best thing about serving in that role of a modern-day John Condon? And how do you keep the enthusiasm up when the team, as it's been for a while, is in the doldrums?
Nobody is a modern-day John Condon, but there's nothing like being able to sit in the best seat in the house for a game at Madison Square Garden.
You're able to keep the enthusiasm up because for the fans; Knicks' games are more than just a sporting competition. These games are social outings, business meetings, date nights, and places for celebrities to be seen. It's more fun to be calling Knicks games at Madison Square Garden in a less-than-stellar season than it is to call games at most arenas during a good season. The Garden is always buzzing, and it's always full.
5. Who are your influences, mentors, and inspirations?
My father is my greatest influence for life in general, but my radio mentor is Bruce Johnson, long-time News Director (and now Program Director) at WCTC-AM in New Brunswick, NJ. Bruce took a chance on me when all I knew was sports after graduating college. He taught me news, news writing, news broadcasting, chasing stories, and integrity.
6. What's the most interesting business news area right now to you? What kind of stories get your attention the most?
I'm most fascinated by stories on saving for retirement. This is arguably the most important news today. The murders, car chases, and political scandals that pass as news today represent such useless news in the grand scheme of things. This is not what affects the vast majority of people. Listen to what they're talking about at your kid's soccer game: saving money for college, taxes, jobs, health. Not coincidentally, those are the kinds of stories that get my attention the most. News that affects your wallet or your savings account. News that you can use.
7. Of what are you most proud?
I'm most proud of my two kids, Brendan and Kendall, the two most meaningful things I've accomplished in life, for sure. From a career standpoint, I'm most proud of being part of the Wall Street Journal radio network, the most professional and talented group of broadcasters I've ever worked with.
8. What do you do for fun? (And while you're at it, what do you enjoy about coaching soccer?)
I love fresh-water fishing, any kind of exercise, and chasing my kids in the backyard. Coaching soccer is a passion, too. I love the game and I love kids. I coach four traveling teams right now of various ages. My own kids are still too young to play organized soccer, but that will change soon. Hopefully I'll coach them... since I've been coaching other people's kids for about 16 years.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _____________.
...a hug from my wife and kids.
10. What's the best advice you ever got? The worst?
The best advice I ever got was to be happy with your job. The worst? The worst advice came in college from a PD in New York City interviewing me for an internship. He told me to become a lawyer...because a job in radio was lousy.
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