Jay Harris: Chasing the Perfect Show

Who better to bring the truth than a journalist? This week we’re joined by ESPN’s own Jay Harris. For the past 16 years Jay has hosted a number of our favorites in sports: Sports Center, Outside the Lines, NFL Live, Baseball Tonight, Cold Pizza, First Take...the list goes on.

Jay’s professional career started in Steel City (Pittsburgh) where he was a news anchor at WPGH-TV and did morning radio news for WAMO-FM, along with American Urban Radio Networks.

Jay’s also a proud alumnus of Old Dominion University and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. 

Tune in for a good laugh, some inspiration, a bit of motivation and the truth!

Host: Dr. Seku Gathers

Guest: Jay Harris

Resources:

@JayHarrisESPN - Twitter@JayHarrisEPSN - Instagram

Time Stamps:

[6:00]

Professional Truth: Jay bought up a great point; when it comes to the truth, it’s not always the case that we’re ignoring it, it’s just that we’re unaware of it. He takes us back to his Pittsburgh days when he was working in radio and the station had just hired a new Program Director. Usually, when that happens the new director will clean house and bring in their own team - Jay says that the good ones listen to their current team to assess their talents before making any changes. This particular director didn’t like the way that Jay did the news and told Jay that he needed to make changes. Jay took that advice, critically listened to himself and realized that he wasn’t as good as he could have been. He made the necessary changes, which made him better and allowed him to keep his job. He says his goal is to be better tomorrow than he was today - despite knowing that he’ll never have a perfect show, he says that he’s still going to chase it. 

[9:46]

 Personal Truth: Jay’s relationships have played a key role in his life. He talks to us a bit about the key ingredient to his long, happy marriage, his close relationship with his father and how he’s used his relationships as points of clarity. Jay gleaned his personal truth from his family’s experience with alcoholism. He grew up watching alcohol take a toll on some of the strongest people he knows, a result he does not drink. He says that he saw what it did to them and who is he to think that he could win that fight? He was also heavily influenced by his family’s strong work ethic - I loved hearing about how the family had to stop his 97-year-old uncle from getting on the tractor!

[14:47]

Say What You Need to Say: Jay is an eloquent storyteller; a communicator at heart. I asked him what the qualities of a good communicator are and how they translate to personal life? He says that you have to be willing to relate. Jay says what he does isn’t difficult, he just puts himself in a position to do it. In order for him to tell his stories, he has to be in that position to do so; no matter how frightening it may have been, he felt that had something that others should know, so he put himself in front of a microphone. Jay says that if you have something to say, and you’re the only source, you have to speak up - it’s not a fear that you can succumb to. 

[20:23] 

Yes or BS

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