John Gray is an EMMY ® Award-winning journalist , writer , and news anchor for WXXA Fox 23 and WTEN ABC 10 in Albany . His new debut novel , Manchester Christmas , is available for sale online and at bookstores nationwide .
Sherman : Where were you born ?
Gray : I was born and raised in Troy , New York . I grew up in South Troy . It was a very culturally diverse town . Things were different back then . Back in the 70s , parents could just open the door and let their kids play outside . All the parents looked out for each other ’ s kids and kept an eye on them . It was a great community .
Sherman : Did you know at an early age that you were interested in writing and journalism ?
Gray : I had a fourth-grade teacher named Miss Palusiak . She gave us an optional extra credit assignment to write a poem . A lot of the other kids didn ’ t want to do it , but I enjoyed writing . I wrote a little poem about a pirate ship . I incorporated all of the names of the other kids in the class and made them characters on the ship . It was very silly and fun . She gave me an “ A ” on it . She told me that she liked it so much that she wanted me to read it to the rest of the class . I was only nine years old . I had never read anything in front of anyone else before , but I got up in front of everyone and performed it . They were all laughing and clapping . They thought it was hilarious . From that moment , I was hooked . I was only nine or ten years old , but I knew that I wanted to do something with my life that involved writing .
Sherman : Were your parents supportive of your interest in writing ?
Gray : They were always supportive . Back when I was at school , my teachers would send me home with these little pamphlets for mail-order books , such as “ The Hardy Boys ” mysteries . We were a lower-middle class family , but my mom and dad always found a couple of dollars to buy me a book . I also had a library card at a young age and got to go to the Troy Public Library , which is still there today . Whenever I meet kids and they tell me , “ I want to be a writer ”, I always tell them : “ Well make sure you ’ re a reader .” To me , that ’ s the first part of the equation . My parents always nurtured my interest in reading from a young age . They were also supportive when I decided to major in communications and journalism at college . Some parents might say “ it ’ s hard to find a job that pays well with a degree like that . Maybe you should think about being an engineer or a lawyer .” My parents never said any of that . They told me , “ If you want to do it , then go for it .”
Sherman : Who were some of the early mentors that helped to guide you ?
Gray : My earliest mentor was a teacher named David Kissick . He pulled me aside when I was in eighth grade at the end of a class . At first , I was confused . I didn ’ t know why I was in trouble . He handed me back a paper with an “ A +” on it . He said to me , “ You ’ re writing differently than the other kids . I can ’ t explain it , but it ’ s different – and it ’ s good .” It meant a lot , because I really respected him as a teacher . I knew that I was never going to be the quarterback of the football team , and I knew that I would never be able to dunk a basketball . It felt great to hear this guy tell me that I was really good at something . It made me believe in myself . I started writing more and more . The best thing about David Kissick was that he was honest in terms of his feedback . He held me to a high standard . Sometimes he ’ d write these notes in the margins that were just brutal , but they ended up really helping me . He was my first editor in a way . He taught me to never be lazy with my writing . It made an incredible difference in terms of my creative development .
Sherman : What was college like for you ?
Gray : I chose to start my college education at Hudson Valley Community College . It was reasonably priced and provided a good education that was not that far from my home . I started working for the school paper , and then became the editor of the paper . It was a thankless job that no one wanted to do , but they told me that they would pay for my tuition and pay for my books if I did it . When I transferred to SUNY Oswego to finish my journalism and communications degree , I got in front of a TV camera for the first time . I was terrified initially . I got so overwhelmed that I started sweating , but I was able to calm my nerves over time . From there , I started doing regularly scheduled shows on college radio . Not that many people listened , but it still gave me a taste for what it was like .
Sherman : What happened after college ?
Gray : I graduated in May of 1985 . When I graduated , I assumed that the whole world was going to be waiting to hire me with open arms . It didn ’ t happen that way . I knew that I wanted to work in the field of
TV or radio , but there were no local positions available for someone with limited experience . To make ends meet , I took a job bussing tables at a restaurant in Colonie . It actually paid pretty well , and I got to eat some delicious food while I was working there . It was a fun period of my life . I fit right in with everybody who worked there because I came from a blue-collar family . When I finally got hired for my first job in radio , it was a minimum-wage job at a little local station , I did some filing work for them . When one of their employees left , they gave me a chance to do my own radio show .
Sherman : What was your experience like working at the radio station ?
Gray : When I first started , I would go out and do news stories and record interviews on a little tape recorder that I bought with my own money . I would gather the news and then put it together for my show . It wasn ’ t easy at first , but the older disc jockeys who worked at the radio station were incredibly kind to me . One of them approached me when I was setting up for my show and said , “ When you ’ re done with the newscast , don ’ t walk away . I ’ m going to talk to you during the broadcast .” I was incredibly nervous , at first , to be talking to another person live on-air , but it helped me to become more comfortable with myself . I became better at reacting in real time . As a broadcaster and news person , it ’ s essential to always remain in the moment . Radio was a great training ground for me . I got to make a lot of mistakes and learn from them . It allowed me to refine my craft before I ever got started with TV .
Sherman : How did you get your first break on TV ?
Gray : When I first started applying to work at local TV stations , nobody in the Albany region wanted to hire me . I couldn ’ t even get in the room to talk to anybody . There was a young news director at the Channel 13 NBC station named Steve Bullock . I kept contacting him to ask about potential employment opportunities , but his secretary kept telling me that he was unavailable . One day in January of 1988 , I called his secretary and asked her if Steve had just five minutes to speak with me sometime in between January and September . We picked a day in March and I wrote it down in my calendar . I showed up at noon on that day with my resumé , but Steve had completely forgotten about the appointment . I sat outside his office until he invited me in to
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