Off Deadline
Off Deadline goes beyond the headlines to reveal what really happens when the cameras stop rolling and the deadlines pass. Host Melissa DiGianfilippo, Founder and CEO of Proof Publicity, creates a rare safe space where top journalists drop their professional guard to share the moments that changed everything—the ethical crossroads that kept them awake, the sources that most surprised them, the stories that broke them, and the victories no one will ever write about. From the hilarious disasters to the heart-stopping close calls, veteran journalists share the wild, unforgettable moments that never made it into their reporting. These are the behind-the-scenes confessions, the career-defining chaos, and the human moments that remind us why journalism is equal parts calling and complete madness. This isn't about breaking news—it's about the people who lived through the craziest moments while chasing the story, and the experiences they'll never forget. If you've ever wondered what it really takes to be a storyteller in our chaotic world, Off Deadline delivers the raw, unfiltered truth behind journalism's most compelling voices. Watch on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts!
Episodes
A printout of an email from April 2014 with a few case numbers jotted in the margin, stuck in a drawer and forgotten. That was the first step in a ten year journey through roughly 150 banker's boxes of attorney general case files to write the definitive book on the Don Bolles assassination. Jeremy Duda did it with a full time job, and had two kids along the way.
Jeremy is a reporter at Axios Phoenix, the first hire w...
She was standing alone at a pond with her camera gear, a police helicopter overhead, waiting on a shooter who was moving from house to house. That was the moment Hailey Frances asked herself, what are we doing here? Years later she was leading content at Phoenix's CW station, had just told her husband to go chase his pilot's license while she carried the family, and then the station was sold.
Hailey is an Arizona nat...
She used to sit in her car after work in tears and could not explain why, because there is no crying in oral surgery. A wellness retreat in Baja California gave her the answer she did not want: she was done being a surgeon. Today Bahar Anooshahr is the restaurant critic for The Arizona Republic, and the first thing with her new title printed on it is her proof of how far that decision carried her.
Born in Iran, Bahar...
He keeps every thank-you note a reader has ever mailed him, because journalists mostly hear the other kind of feedback. Patrick O'Grady has spent 30 years in Valley journalism, from the X-Acto knife and waxer days to tracking newsletter open rates, and he has strong opinions about what it takes for local news to survive.
Patrick began as a reporter covering everything from bake sales to billion dollar economi...
Sheriff Joe Arpaio spent years telling people he was at her wedding. He was not. Amy Silverman covered him too long and too well for that rumor to survive, and it is not even the strangest story in this episode.
Amy Silverman is a journalist, writer and teacher who has covered her hometown of Phoenix for more than three decades. She spent 25 years at Phoenix New Times and is now executive producer of The Show...
She was furloughed for three months during Covid, started throwing videos at TikTok for fun, and Arizona Places happened by accident. Six years later she is full time, and the advice she gives anyone chasing it is blunt: a hobby mindset gives you hobby results.
Aiesha Beasley is a Tucson native and Phoenix based content creator, entrepreneur and podcast host who has spent more than a decade building community...
A doctor told him at twelve that if he treated Crohn's disease like a death sentence, it would become one. Twenty years later Joe Huizenga lost 100 pounds during Covid and ran a marathon almost entirely alone, no crowd, no finish line medal. It is still the thing he is proudest of, and it is not on his resume.
Joe Huizenga has been in broadcasting since 2004, the year he graduated from ASU's Walter Cronkite S...
Kyle Unfug blew off radio. She took the internship to get it out of the way, decided radio was the worst, and planned to go do television instead. Twenty-five years later she is still there, and she has co-hosted The Johnjay & Rich Show since 2008.
Kyle went to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State, interned at a Phoenix radio station, and got hired to co-host nights. Overnights, weekends ...
The guard walked out and closed the door. Paul Maryniak was left sitting across a table from a 28-year-old on trial for his fifth homicide, no handcuffs, close enough to touch. He listened the whole time thinking one thing: I have to get out of here. Fifty years later, it is still the interview he wishes he had done differently.
Paul started in journalism in the 1970s and joined the Pittsburgh Press in 1975 as ...
She was out running errands when her phone would not stop ringing. Stephanie Innes pulled her car to the side of the road in Tucson and learned that Gabby Giffords, someone she had written about and used to see around town, had been shot. Then the national media landed, and she found out what it means to be the local reporter who is still there after everyone else flies to the next disaster.
Stephanie Innes has been ...
Their parents thought they were drug dealers. Their first paid post was $100, and they celebrated with wings. Ten years later, David Vicente and his brother have turned Welcome to Arizona into one of the state's biggest local storytelling platforms — 1.3 million followers on Instagram, over 500K on TikTok, and a seven-figure business behind it.
It didn't happen fast. The first 10,000 followers took two years. W...
Chelsey Hauston built one of Arizona's most trusted food platforms out of a pet pig fan page and a breakup. Seven years later, she's the creator behind Let Them Eat This, with 336,000 followers on Instagram and 300,000 on TikTok. What most people don't see: she's running that empire while managing a rare autoimmune disease her former employer once called "her problem."
On this episode of Off Deadline, Melissa DiGianf...
She almost didn't answer the call. An unknown number, a voicemail from a Women's Wear Daily reporter, and one bold follow-up question turned into a summer internship in LA. That's the moment Christina Silvestri says split her career into before and after.
Christina is the editor in chief of Arizona Foothills Magazine, the state's longest-running luxury lifestyle publication, now marking 30 years. A Phoenix native and...
In this episode of Off Deadline, Melissa DiGianfilippo of Proof Publicity sits down with Kaley O'Kelley of ABC 15 in Phoenix, a broadcast journalist whose career has been shaped by both extraordinary opportunity and deep personal challenge.
Kaley shares what it was like to receive a last-minute call sending her to New York to fill in on Good Morning America, and the devastation of later learning that a long-term netw...
In this episode of Off Deadline, host Melissa DiGianfilippo sits down with Paul Thompson, Managing Editor of the Phoenix Business Journal, for an honest conversation about journalism, leadership, and responsibility in today’s media landscape.
Paul reflects on how covering crime early in his career shaped his approach to reporting, why journalists must chase difficult stories, and how newsroom debates help sharp...
In this episode of Off Deadline, host Melissa DiGianfilippo sits down with Cynthia Sassi, founder and publisher of Fabulous Arizona, the digital lifestyle publication spotlighting the people, places and brands shaping Arizona.
Cynthia shares how she built Fabulous Arizona from the ground up, why she went all in on her business without a safety net, and how losing a job days before rent was due became a defining momen...
Michelle Glicksman on Editorial Judgment, Magazine Deadlines and What Makes a Story Worth Publishing
In this episode of Off Deadline, host Melissa DiGianfilippo sits down with Michelle Glicksman, a 26-year media veteran and editor in chief behind multiple Arizona publications, including Scottsdale City Lifestyle and Chandler City Lifestyle.
Michelle shares how writing shaped her career early on, why magazine journalism ultimately won over television, and what it truly means to be responsible for editorial judgment u...
Catherine Anaya is a three-time Emmy Award winning journalist, longtime Phoenix news anchor, and the host of Horizonte on Arizona PBS. With more than 35 years in broadcast journalism, she has interviewed world leaders, built deep trust with viewers, and shaped how Arizona understands its most important stories.
In this episode of Off Deadline, Catherine reflects on the career she built, the moments that changed her p...
In this episode of Off Deadline, host Melissa DiGianfilippo sits down with Karen Dalessandro, a multi-award-winning broadcaster whose career spans more than four decades across Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee and Phoenix. Karen shares how a high school radio booth sparked her passion, the advice that pushed her into country radio, and the “radio gypsy” lifestyle that shaped her early years.
She opens up about...
In this episode of Off Deadline, host Melissa DiGianfilippo (@melissadflip) sits down with @javiersototvto explore the personal and professional moments that shaped his career as one of Arizona’s most trusted journalists.
Javier shares stories from his childhood as a talkative kid, the internship that changed his life, the mentor who insisted he be hired, and the newsroom experiences that revealed his calling. ...
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