Hi. I’m Diana Ferrito, producer of “Scott and Todd in the Morning” on 95.5 WPLJ New York, and welcome to Bergen Community College!

I went to Bergen in, I think, ’89, ’90. I must have graduated ’90, ’91, and my major at Bergen was Communications. And I wanted to do behind-the-scenes stuff. I really wanted to produce a television show, but when I was there I started to like radio (laughter), too. So what I’m doing with myself now is I’m at WPLJ here in New York, and I’m one of the producers on “Scott and Todd in the Morning.” And I have to tell you, I really wasn’t one of those people who went to college right after high school. I was one of those who waited 10 years and then went back to college. And I have to tell you, the experience at Bergen was a really good one. At first, I was afraid to go back to college. I thought I’d be the old maid of the bunch. But everybody there made you feel really, really welcome, and they treated you like a person, an individual. And I have to say that after I did graduate Bergen, and I went on to a four-year college, it really wasn’t the same. In the four-year colleges, I just felt like a number. And Bergen Community really took you under their wing and helped you in what you wanted to study. And they made sure that you really, thoroughly understood it. I really liked that about that college. They were very much one-on-one with you.
My job here at PLJ is one of the producers of the morning show on “Scott and Todd in the Morning.” There’s three producers here, and I’m the producer who puts the content of the show together. So everything that you hear them talk about comes from me. I’ll come in at the crack of dawn, 4:30 in the morning, and read every single newspaper under the sun, and put a nice, little news packet together for them. And I also book all the talent that comes on the show, so I compile all the facts and everything that the guests want to book when they come on the show. And I also handle all the interns. Yes, we do have internships here at PLJ. You can be a part of the “Morning Show.” And it’s just a lot of fun! It’s behind-the-scenes producing that handles all the guests and puts the contents together, whereas the other producers handle more the technical aspect of it. They make sure all the commercials get run on time, and they’re pushing buttons, and just make sure we stay on time.
So today is Thursday, January 8th, and it was a very busy day here at PLJ. I had three guests this morning that I have to make sure totally run on schedule. So when I was telling you about all the newspapers that I go through in the morning, this is what I compiled for the guys. And this is pretty much what they talk about on the show. They go through it, and then they just ad lib on it. That’s that. Then we also have, when they open up the mikes in the morning, everything that they say down to the weather, and the special guests that are coming up on the show. And then we also have this that tells you where the party control is going to be, with the promotions department, the community bulletin board, concert announcements, and everything. So, as you can see, we had a very busy show. We had Edward Jakowski; he’s a fitness guy who can tell you how to shed your pounds that you gained during the holiday season. We had Mark Benson; he’s a guy who’s in a Beatle tribute band that’s going to be playing at Carnegie Hall this coming weekend. And Jessica Capshaw, who’s on ABC’S The Practice. So that was a pretty busy day that we had today, and that all happens in four hours, from 6 til 10, every single day from Monday to Friday. And then when the show’s over, I’m on the phone with agents and publicists, just trying to book for the next shows coming up. And you always want to make sure that you’re ahead of the game. So I’m always 2 weeks in advance, booked with guests, ’cause you never know what’s going to happen.
Let me give you a little tour of the station. Right here, if you want to look around, this is our “Morning Show” studios. This is the studio that only the “Morning Show” uses—no other jocks. And when we’re off the air, all the other jocks, if you want to look through that plexiglass over there, that’s where everything else that you hear when you have your radio tuned to 95.5 FM is coming from this studio.
Those are all the working studios, so come on over here. Over here, this is our phone pit. Oh, what a surprise! This is Tony Mascaro, our music director.
How’s it going?
He programs all the music here at PLJ. And this is the phone pit, where we can take all your phone calls when you come in, when you’re a listener. And there’s a call screen that goes up there, that if you type on that, the jocks when they’re on air, see everything that is going on, ’cause you can’t answer the phones while you’re in the studio. And that’s Theresa Green; she’s the producer for the jock that’s on the air right now.
This is a digital studio here. This is Dan Kelly. He’s our—what’s your title there, Dan?
Creative Services Director.
(laughter)
Who is this, by the way?
This is Marshall Katzman from Bergen Community College, and he’s doing a little tape on us, since I’m alumni from that—I’m an alumni from that school. So he works on all the sweepers and stuff that we do here at the station.
Alumnus, not an alumni. Yeah.
Bye, Dan. Alright, see ya later.
Here’s a transmitter for Radio Disney. Eee-uuu, if you want to go in there …
Here’s another studio. If you really want to see old, come on over here. Believe it or not, here is a reel-to-reel machine, collecting dust. And this is what we use now—Odyssey; everything is digital. Alright.
Carts—we still use carts; they’re the most reliable thing.
That’s our Engineer Department in there. And then we have another studio.
Now this is the hallway of PLJ. That’s my desk. You see the gold records.
This is all the Sales Department here, behind the cubicles. The Jock Lounge. Do you want to see the Jock Lounge? This is where all the jocks come, and they get all the information for the day.
Pretty much, that’s it. This is all the Sales Department; they put the commercials on the air. This is Tina and Linda; they’re in Sales.
Hello. Hi.
This is Jason; he’s in Sales.
Hi, how are ya?
This is our receptionist. And then you’re just coming down, all the way down to the Promotions Department, down there. They go out with the vans and take care of the ticket winners, and everything like that. And that’s it.
Bye-bye, thanks for coming to PLJ. Have a great time at Bergen!