18 RADIOINK•COM MAY 6, 2019
Radio Ink: The Craig Carton situation
then came up. What were you thinking
when that happened?
Giannotti: After I did the Saturday show
on the network, in 2015 they brought me
in to do the morning show on the network
full-time. I moved back from Pittsburgh
in January of 2015, and we started Gio
& Jones [with Brian Jones] for three
years. There were a lot of people who
told me not to leave local radio, to stay
in Pittsburgh and not go to the network
because it was an unknown.
I wanted to take it because I wanted to
be back in the building where WFAN was.
I said, “I can fill in on WFAN; it’s right
down the hall.” I was ready to step up
when needed, not knowing something like
that would happen. At first I didn’t know
the severity of it, but once I knew he was
going to be out for a while and then the
resignation soon after, I thought, “I’m
right here. I know they like me as a morn-
ing guy. They’re gonna give me a shot.”
They did.
There were a couple of different guys
in there, and then Chernoff said, “I’m
going to put you in there for a week and
see how it goes.” That first day with
Boomer was one of the worst shows I
have ever done. It was fresh off a very
polarizing topic. It was right after the
Colin Kaepernick story. Trump had a press
conference and said they should make all
the “sons of bitches” stand.
The next Sunday, all the players
kneeled, and on Monday we were on the
air. There were a lot of angry people, and
I’m trying to be an entertaining morning
show host. I walked out thinking I blew
my chance — thank God they gave me a
week. Each day got better. I came back
for a few more days before they made the
decision.Radio Ink: Did you think you had it?
Giannotti: There was a time I walked
out and thought, “There’s no doubt I’m
getting this.” Then time elapsed. One
day I brought in a guitar and played a
song. Boomer and Chernoff were crack-
ing up, saying this is the type of enter-
tainment they are looking for. Chernoff
was telling me, “We’re confident you’re
the guy.” Chris Oliviero was confident.
Boomer wanted to make 100 percentsure the next guy was the right one. He
needed time, and I completely under-
stood and respected that. But the longer
it went on — I was thinking it would not
happen for me. At the time there was no
afternoon show, either. No replacement
was announced for Mike Francesa, who
was retiring. There was a stretch there I
thought I might get afternoons.
It was awkward because I’m doing Gio
& Jones two studios down from where
Boomer is doing his show at the same
time. I would see him every morning.
One day he says to me, “Come back to
my office” — at about 5:30 one morn-
ing — and he said, “I’m in. Go call your
agent and get the deal done.” I was very
fortunate he decided we would be a good
partnership.Radio Ink: So a kid who grew up listen-
ing to the station, thinking that is what
they want to do someday, has made it,
achieved the goal at a top-billing sta-
tion — what is that feeling like?
Giannotti: When I first achieved it, there
was this tremendous sense of accomplish-
ment. I drove home that day tearing up at
the idea that I made it. All the hard work
paid off. I was cognizant of the fact that
my mindset would change, because in this
business you have to keep working everyday. I took that time to let it soak in and
enjoy it. Now we have to be as great as
we can be and keep the job by being the
best we can be.
I’ve been doing this for over a year, and
just last week I looked over at Boomer
and thought, “Wow, I’m really doing this.”
There are times it’s still surreal and I’m
mesmerized I am in this spot.Radio Ink: I got the sense at the begin-
ning you were a little tentative, but
as the months went on, you felt more
comfortable taking control and being
more forceful.
Giannotti: Yes. In Pittsburgh I was on
the air doing nights, and it was launching
a station. When I moved to the morn-
ings, it was, “We’re using you to try to fix
something.” With CBS Sports Radio, when
they were shuffling things around, it was,
“We’re bringing you in to fix this thing.”
With this show, it was the exact opposite.
I was not fixing anything. I just had to
keep something that was successful, suc-
cessful.
Here I am, surrounded by all these
guys who’ve been working together at a
high level for 10 years. I had a calculated
approach. I could not go in there and take
that show and make it mine. I needed to
be a part of it. I laid back to see what was
going to work. I was able to use those
couple of months to experiment and see
what worked.
The early portion of the show was
about building relationships with the staff
and Boomer, as opposed to me hijacking
content decisions or being an overbearing
personality. That would not have worked.
There are other talk show hosts who
might say, “Yeah, you get morning drive
in NY, you have to go balls to the wall.”
No, that was not going to work. They’d
been working with a guy they were very
close with, and the feelings were still
raw. People were sad. If I went in there
and tried to dominate, it would not have
worked.
As the months went on and Boomer
trusted me more and the chemistry
developed, I said, “Now is the time I can
do more and be more myself.” The advice
I would get is to be myself, and that’s
what got me to this spot. But I could not
be the same guy I was on Gio & Jones with“Best way to describe Gio’s rise is
to break it down in sports lingo,
of course. Gio is the five-tool
baseball player a team signs
right out of high school with
confident hope, but certainly no
guarantee, that one day in the
future he will be an All Star and
a key anchor of a championship
team. From his early days with
the company, first as a producer,
then to Pittsburgh, and on to
CBS Sports Radio, and finally to
WFAN, he always outperformed
and turned potential into reality.
He is no longer a prospect, but a
certified star in the big leagues.”Chris Oliviero
Former EVP/Programming, CBS
Radio