Editor's Note: This week we are re-releasing the episodes with our 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees. Here, our host became the guest, as Jag's 2002 classmate and fellow Hall of Famer Matt DelSignore sat him down to hear his story.
Today, we turn the tables on our host and put Jon "JAG" Gay, from the Class of 2002, in the hot seat. Doing the honors is his classmate, Matt DelSignore.
Matt starts by asking Jag about the WJPZ at 50 Podcast, how the idea started, and what he's learned by hosting it. From there, we turn to Jag's time at Syracuse and WJPZ. His story is very similar to many previous podcast guests. He got to Syracuse wanting to be a sportscaster, but didn't really find his tribe until he started at Z89.
At WJPZ, Jag had several exec staff positions, including Chief Announcer and VP of Operations the year we were in the Ostrom House. Matt also asks Jag about the 9/11 broadcast that we discussed on a previous episode.
We retrace Jag's steps through a terrible internship at Kiss 108, his first part time job in Providence, Rhode Island, then his full-time on-air career in Burlington Vermont, Detroit, New Orleans, and back to the Motor City. It shouldn't surprise you to hear he had a lot of help from JPZ'ers along the way.
Following his last radio layoff a week after he got married, Jag was a newlywed with no job and potentially facing a career change. He credits his wife Ellen for encouraging him to start his podcast business, which he's grown since its inception in 2018.
We close on a really personal topic. JAG's Syracuse roommate and best friend, Bill Leaf, was killed by a drunk driver in 2006, at age 25. Bill was also a summer Z89 staffer. Jag talks about his passion for both honoring Bill's memory and speaking out against the dangers of drunk driving.
This episode was produced and edited by JAG in Detroit podcasts - learn more at https://jagindetroit.com/
Connect with the WJPZ Alumni Association: https://wjpzalumniassociation.org/
Connect with the WJPZ Alumni Association: https://wjpzalumniassociation.org/
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