Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio,Conversations about issues that matter. Here's your
host, three time Grasie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein. I had this brainstorm.
We had this big International Women's Dayevent here at iHeartRadio New York,
and we got together with a lotof women who are clients who advertise on
(00:27):
some of our radio stations, butalso many of the women who are part
of the iHeartRadio family here in NewYork. Got to speak on panels and
got to interact. I was ona panel. You hosted a panel,
Yes, I hosted a panel,and I want to introduce you. And
it gave me the idea to celebrateInternational Women's Month. I wanted to introduce
(00:49):
to my family here at CES,some of the other women on air at
iHeartRadio, and the woman next doorI could borrow a cup of show her,
Christine Naggy, you know Christine Nagyof Cubby and Christine Mornings one oh
six point seven light FM. Soyeah, I just thought it would be
(01:11):
interesting to get my audience to knowthe other women who are on the floor,
the tremendous women I get to see, you know here on the floor
at iHeartRadio, so Christine, sonice of you. Shelley, thank you.
So I want to know your story, like when you were growing up,
did you want to be on radio? Radio came to me a little
(01:33):
bit later, although I do havetape recording, Shelley of a little cassette
recorder where I was playing a newscaster. So there's something in me that always
sort of knew that I wanted todo this. And I've never been a
DJ. I've never been a jock, right, I'm always been co hosting.
I'm interested in the conversation and thatpart of it, the creativity and
(01:56):
the connection. So I started offstudying acting and I was doing a lot
of theater. I was doing somework in soap operas here in New York
and discovered radio when I was incollege and something really clicked and I loved
it. I loved it in theway that I do love theater and I
love acting. And again, Ithink it's the connection and the creativity in
the community that's involved with radio differentfrom broadcast TV. I really connected with
(02:23):
radio rather than broadcast TV. Whyat the time when I was looking into
both, because I had it asa major. So I was studying television
and radio. I found broadcast TVat that time to not have that feeling.
To me. It was, youknow, to be a stand up
reporter, to be out on thestreet. I didn't think I was cut
(02:45):
out for that exactly. But again, coming into a studio and working with
someone and playing off of someone andsharing that energy is just what clicked,
what felt right. Where did yougo to college? Montclair State Universe Okay,
and they have a great department forbroadcasters. Yeah. Yeah, so
you were on soaps. I didn'tknow that which soaps were you? Little
(03:08):
day player stuff? Seriously, allmy children and one life to live.
Wow. Yeah, but what amazesme about soaps. That's such a difficult
acting job because you have to learnyour lines overnight. I don't understand how
people do it. Yeah, thelearning of the lines. I know that
(03:28):
can be a big challenge for alot of people. I was kind of
lucky in that my brain works thatway that I could look at a script
and it stays with me really yeah, still to this day, because I
still love to do theater. Itstays with me. I don't know how
Wait a minute, so you couldjust read a script like and the next
day perform it well. The soapopera actors definitely have a gift and have
(03:52):
been able to do that. Inever had a steady role like that.
My friends did and they're amazing.But yeah, I kind of have a
memory for that. I can't,you know, I don't remember what I
had for breakfast yesterday. This isamazing to me. But I'll look at
a script and remember. But Imean with theater, like how often would
you have to read the script beforeyou would know the play? Just kind
(04:14):
of it's when I'm working on ashow, it's just always with me.
I carry it with me, Ithink about it, I'm doing it in
the shower. I'll grab any scenepartner I possibly can beg to sit down
and run lines with me, andit just becomes part of you because you're
getting into that character. So Idon't know, it's again, it's just
(04:34):
the way my brain works. I'vegot that going for me. There's other
things, but that's amazing to me. That really is Is there anything else?
I mean, these are real accomplishments. And by the way, before
Christine did Cubby and Christine Mornings atLight FM, she was on Z one
(04:54):
hundred for how many years, overeight years. So I was with Elvis
and before that, how did youget that to job? How did that
happen? Well? I was atQ one of four point three Wow when
it was New York's Pure Rock.So that was kind of like my first,
if you will, big break inNew York. Right, wait a
minute, So how to get thatjob from Shadow Traffic? So my very
(05:15):
very first job in broadcasting was ShadowTraffic. So I was doing traffic reports.
It was on on I was goingto name different radio stations and I
don't know if I should, That'sokay, different stations here in New York
and NBC Today, the Today Show, that very early show in the morning.
I was doing that and Q oneof four had flipped formats from classical
music to New York's Pure Rock,and they were looking to put a show
(05:38):
together and I was very interested inbeing a co host, so I was
brought on board as the morning showco host. That lasted two years and
then they flipped formats to what youHear Now, and we were out of
work. Because that happens a lotin radio radio. You're no fold like
you could be out the next day, particularly when they changed format. Right,
(05:59):
So I was out of work,and thankfully timing in life is everything,
there was an opening at Z onehundred. They were looking for a
co host. They had just puttogether a morning show Elvis and Elliott,
and I was available, and sothey brought me over there. And then
years later there was another opening.As I say, thankfully in life was
right place, right time. Therewas a position open for Light where they
(06:21):
wanted to start a bigger morning showthan what they had previously had, bigger
in talking, more and more content. Did you have to actually audition for
Elvis or did you just have aconversation with them? They brought me in,
so, you know, trial byfire kind of on as on air
audition. The same with Light.Just brought me in. Let's just see
(06:43):
how it goes, says a littlenerve wracking. Yeah, well that's how
I started with Jim Kerr. Itwas in nineteen seventy seven and I was
working in Atlanta. I worked atZ ninety three, another Z huh,
and I was just in the middleof switching jobs. I had just been
hired by the news talk stations.So I was on my one week break
(07:06):
and I had been in touch withthe program director of WPLJ for many years.
He tried to hire me in Detroit, but the woman who I was
replacing decided not to leave. ButI kept in touch with him all those
years, not knowing that that wasnetworking. I would send him right,
I would just check in with him, send him a tape of how I
(07:28):
was sounding, get some I alsowould would send it to the news director
at WABC radio because I wanted himto critique me, you know, but
ultimately I wanted to get hired byone of the other because New York is
the tough right. So yeah,there was an opening at PLJ, and
Larry Berger, the program director,then said, well, you know,
(07:51):
why don't you come in and doan on air audition. And Jim had
no idea who I was when Iwalked into and he threw us together.
I have no idea why he threwus together. Unfortunately he has passed.
I never got to ask him whathe saw in me and Jim that he
(08:11):
knew that these total opposites would click. But he somehow knew something. And
in the middle of the week,he said, oh, we want you
to finish out the week, andI said, no, I don't know
how I had this Kutzpah. Iwas twenty three years old, and I
just said, no, I'm onvacation. I'm starting a new job in
Atlanta. You have to decide nowor else I'm going to finish my vacation.
(08:33):
Oh wow, how I ever,Christine? I mean right balls,
yeah, yeah, yeah, andthey hired me. I mean, it
was just the craziest thing I'm speaking. You guys are legendary. Oh thank
you. Well, we're lucky andwe love what we do. We are
so lucky. We're also lucky herebecause the worst thing I tell people all
(08:54):
the time, the only work Ido all day is waking up in the
morning because it's the middle of thenight. It's on Godly and no,
you never get used to it.So I'm speaking with Christine Haghy of Cubby
and Christine Mornings on one of sixpoint seven Light FM. And the reason
I'm having Christine join me this morningis because this is International Women's Month and
(09:16):
I wanted to highlight some of thewonderful women the other on air talent here
at iHeartRadio. Okay, so you'rean actress, you're a radio personality.
Do you have anything else on thislist of accomplishments. That's all you want,
that's all you know. There's noother dream out there or is there
(09:37):
still an an acting dream still?Because I've seen you. Thank you and
you're wonderful. Thank you so much, Ellie. Film and theater, thanks,
Yes, I love them. Iwill always love this. I feel
like I will always love radio andtheater and film and the arts and music.
I'm really passionate about music. Youknow my fiance is a musician.
(09:58):
It's okay, I want to hearthe story. You brought it up.
I didn't know whether we could gopersonal. How did you meet Bumble?
Really? Yes? Yes? Ohtell me this sho okay, yes,
this I do want to share withyou because it's so radio. Our boss,
you know, my boss, Chriscalmly sure, he had said to
me. At one point, hegoes, you haven't been talking about dating
lately. He likes my dating storiesbecause they were always kind of out there,
(10:20):
And I was like, yeah,that's because I haven't been and he
goes, well, we need moredating stories. They're good. So I
said, all right, I'll joinBumble. So I joined Bumble. I
said it like that negatively, becauseI wasn't in the mood for dating.
I said, I'll join, I'llget some stories, and I'll get off
of there. So I went onBumble. I dated three guys. I
(10:41):
got great radio stories and before Isigned off because nothing clicks with them.
Before I signed off, I said, let me just date somebody for me
like that has nothing to do withradio, just not for a story.
Somebody I want to meet was Eric. I chose Eric now is my fiance
and he had just joined Bumble andhe said, I was like one of
(11:03):
the first women who contacted him.Wow, So I was like his first.
He was my last. We gottogether pretty fast because, as you
probably know from dating apps, likedon't let it go on too long,
meet in person right soon because sometimeswhat was the first date great connecting that
way coffee. We did a coffeedate because that's safe. Dinner is you
know, if it's not a gooddate, you're stuck. You're stuck.
(11:24):
Yeah, I learn the hard way. And also my hours. Coffee's great.
So he had to get up.In his world, he was getting
up early because being a musician,he's working musician, he's got gigs at
night. I think I said,can we get together at eleven? And
he went twelve and I said eleventhirty done. So we had coffee and
it was kind of we had sucha pleasant time. He said to me,
(11:45):
I want to go to museum museumnext and I went, yeah,
actually I would love to. Iwas like, next date. I just
didn't want the date to continue thatlong in one day, and it just
built from there. So was itlove at first sight? Yeah? I
liked him right away, like Iknew right away there's something to this,
and I wanted to make really clearto him that he was not a radio
bit, like he was the realdeal. Oh yes, so did the
(12:07):
other guys know they were radio bits? How did that work? I think
one guy and this hurts me tothis day, and I wish I could
make it right. I think hefound out when he heard it on the
radio. Oh that's not cool.I really wish, you know. I
didn't say anything. It was somebodythat I really enjoyed his company and wanted
to be friends with, but Ididn't let him know that this was going
(12:30):
on. And I think he suddenlyheard like I was dating someone. And
if I could go back in time, Shelley, I would fix that.
That's one I'd like to fix.But in your mind when you first when
you joined Bumble, it was forradio bits. It was I mean,
you had that in your mind.So how did you even pick the guys?
I didn't almost like I didn't care. I just thought, yeah,
(12:50):
you like that kind of huh.So I did date a couple of guys
that I had absolutely nothing in commonwith. But learn it's like, it's
just interesting to meet people. It'sjust life experience and to hear other people's
stories, right, and it's like, oh, You're living a whole life
and has nothing to do with showbusiness. Because I feel like we get
(13:11):
so caught up in our world.It's great to hear about these other lives.
I'll tell you a funny story.I had a problem was I was
on dating apps, and my biggestproblem was that everyone thought they had chemistry
with me because I'm so used tointerviewing people that I can just have a
great conversation with any I don't carewho you are, I can talk to
(13:33):
you because that's what I do fora living, right, And so they
would always think that, oh,my god, this is this is just
fantastic. We have a connection.And I'm just going oh, because I
know how to talk to people,all right, Advice advice to people out
there who we only have like twominutes left. Advice first on finding the
(13:56):
love of your life quickly and thenadvice on pursuing a dream and entertainment because
it's a tough industry. It isreally tough, and those are two really
big questions now right, Sorry,so no, it's okay. I think
to both is to stay very veryopen and like I said, i dated
people. I know it was aradio bit, but also my life.
(14:16):
It's life experience and it's interesting meetpeople in other walks of life. You
know, it's okay because you mightconnect. There's other levels that you may
connect at. And then as faras show business is concerned, be as
open again as you can be.Let it play out. Like especially when
you're first starting out. You maynot be able to call your exact role,
but you'll find it. It'll findyou, see, see just what
(14:39):
clicks with you. See. Myphilosophy on life, which is pretty similar,
is that half of what happens isfate and the other half is choice.
Things are going to come into yourpath and people come into your path,
and you choose whether to take thatopportunity, sometimes scary opportunities, or
get to know that person or justare that person. It's fate and it's
(15:01):
choice, and I thank you somuch. Christine Naggycubby and Christine Mornings on
one oh six point seven light FM, My neighbor, you've been listening to
Sunsteen sessions on iHeartRadio, a productionof New York's classic rock Q one O
four point three