EPISODE SUMMARY: Al Roker is the award-winning weather and feature anchor of The Today show on NBC News as well as a best-selling author, radio host, and Broadway star. Roker reflects on the challenges and excitement of working in broadcasting throughout his legendary career.

Roker will be among those honored this fall as Giants of Broadcasting by the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation at the 2024 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony on November 12th at Gotham Hall in New York City.

On this episode of Chachi Loves Everybody, Chachi talks to Al Roker about:

Growing up in Queens with an early fascination with broadcasting
How his stops in Washington, DC, Cleveland, and NYC shaped his experience
The importance of being yourself in broadcasting and showing your personality
Transitioning from local news to national broadcasting with NBC and The Today Show.
Creating Al Roker Entertainment and producing a variety of content across multiple networks and his current animated project
The central role of family in his life and how it influences his writing and cooking
How he and his wife, Deborah Roberts, support each other's broadcasting careers
What it’s like to broadcast major events like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The significance of hard work and his advice for aspiring broadcasters

And More!

ABOUT THIS EPISODE'S GUEST: Al Roker is an institution. As the weatherman on NBC’s TODAY Show and co-anchor of the 3rd Hour of TODAY 3rd Hour of TODAY, presenting universally resonating lifestyle segments, Al has the undivided attention of the nation – over 30 million viewers per week – every weekday morning as America prepares for school and work.

Spanning more than 40 years on TV and 14 Emmy awards, Al conducts interviews with celebrities and newsmakers around the world and does a wide variety of segments on every imaginable subject. According to a The Hollywood Reporter/Morning Consult Poll (2024), Al is the most trusted morning show anchor in America. You can also catch Al Roker on TODAY.com/allday and on Off The Rails on TODAY Show Radio, Channel 108 on SiriusXM radio.

As an award-winning television producer and CEO of Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. (ARE) Al has executive produced numerous TV programs for network, cable, digital, and streaming channels. Not only will you find an Al Roker-produced TV show on your favorite channel, Al Roker Entertainment also produces trusted social impact video content, commercials, and branded entertainment for a wide array of sponsors and non-profits.

Al is also a prolific author with 13 acclaimed books to his credit – from cookbooks to true life historical narratives, and his book, “You Look So Much Better In Person – True Stories Of Absurdity and Success” is a humorous and highly personal collection of essays based on lessons for living a happy life and achieving success through the power of saying “yes!”“ Al’s mystery novel, “The Morning Show Murders” (Book 1 of his popular Billy Blessing multi-book mystery series with Dick Lochte) was developed into a successful TV mini-series for Hallmark Movies.

Recently, “America’s Weatherman” added his name to the long and notable list of TED speakers when he talked to the TED Countdown Summit in Detroit, Michigan about the knock-on effects of extreme weather due to climate change.

As an avid social media contributor, Al regularly tweets on X @AlRoker, shares photos from his travels (and his amazing cooking) on Instagram, and talks with his audience on Facebook. He also has a book page on Facebook for fans of his writing.

Al lives in New York City with his wife, ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts, and has three kids.

ABOUT THE PODCAST: Chachi Loves Everybody is brought to you by Benztown and hosted by the President of Benztown, Dave “Chachi” Denes. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the myths and legends of the radio industry.

PEOPLE MENTIONED:

Willard Scott
Merv Griffin
Dennis Kucinich
Mike McVay
Chris Ostrovsky
Bob Davis
Frank Field
Chuck Scarborough
Sue Simmons
Jack Cafferty
Pat Harper
Marv Albert
Sue Levine
Don Pardo
Bryant Gumbel
Jane Pauley
Tom Joyner
Holly Robinson Peete
Levar Burton
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Courtney Roker Laga
Nick Roker
Tom Papa
Stephen A. Smith
Wendy McMahan
Patsy Smullin
Steve Jones
Wendy McMahon
Deborah Roberts
Lou O'Donnell

ABOUT BENZTOWN: Benztown is a leading international audio imaging, production library, voiceover, programming, podcasting, and jingle production company with over 3,000 affiliations on six different continents. Benztown provides audio brands and radio stations of all formats with end-to-end imaging and production, making high-quality sound and world- class audio branding a reality for radio stations of all market sizes and budgets. Benztown was named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 by Inc. magazine for five consecutive years as one of America’s Fastest-Growing Privately Held Companies. With studios in Los Angeles and Stuttgart, Benztown offers the highest quality audio imaging work parts for 23 libraries across 14 music and spoken word formats including AC, Hot AC, CHR, Country, Hip Hop and R&B, Rhythmic, Classic Hits, Rock, News/Talk, Sports, and JACK. Benztown’s Audio Architecture is one of the only commercial libraries that is built exclusively for radio spots to provide the right music for radio commercials. Benztown provides custom VO and imaging across all formats, including commercial VO and copywriting in partnership with Yamanair Creative. Benztown Radio Networks produces, markets, and distributes high-quality programming and services to radio stations around the world, including: The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown, The Todd-N-Tyler Radio Empire, Hot Mix, Sunday Night Slow Jams with R Dub!, Flashback, Top 10 Now & Then, Hey, Morton, StudioTexter, The Rooster Show Prep, and AmeriCountry. Benztown + McVay Media Podcast Networks produces and markets premium podcasts including: IEX: Boxes and Lines and Molecular Moments.

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Ep. 63 Al Roker