Cincinnati Public Radio’s VP of News, Maryanne Zeleznik, has created a schedule that has kept her rested and on time for almost 39 years. How, or perhaps why, does she do it?
If you love starting your day with Maryanne and ‘Morning Edition’ on your radio, consider showing your support today!
Maryanne started waking people up around this area in 1985, hosting Morning Edition on WNKU and at WVXU since 2005. She leads our news department, is a substitute host on Cincinnati Edition, serves on CPR’s management team, and is a wicked good baker.
9 to 5? Try 4 to 1!
“I really enjoy working the hours I do, really! I’ve tried working 9 to 5, it was AWFUL! How do people work in the middle of the day, that’s for nap time! 9 to 5 is just not for me. I like driving in with little or no traffic, getting the prime parking spot in our garage, and starting my day collecting my thoughts and digging through emails and breaking stories before going on the air.”
“The question I get asked the most is, what time do you get up? The answer is I get up at 3:30 a.m. and am in my office between 4:15 and 4:40. My first newscast is at 6:00, so that gives me 90 minutes to find out what happened overnight, what stories the news team should be covering that day, downloading any audio I’ll need for the newscasts, and take off my shoes – I hate wearing shoes!”
The News Never Stops
“I’m on the air until 10, then that’s when the meetings and phone calls happen, including our daily news meeting. If all goes well, I try to leave about 1:00 but the work, like the news, continues.”
“For my own mental and physical health, I try to take a 90-minute nap each afternoon. That constitutes one sleep cycle and I find I do wake up naturally most days. Then I go back to emails and phone calls, plus often there will be NPR webinars to hear and stories to edit.”
“I’ll do a bit more work after dinner, but I try to shower and get to bed by 10:30 each night. It’s become a routine that works for me.”
(Very) Early Morning Commutes
“Some of my early morning drives have required me to call the police. Once a man was sleeping IN the street, another time it looked like a man had fallen outside the convention center. I’m the eyes and ears on the streets in the dark of night. I’m happy to help, but it’s also nice that apparently many of the dispatchers listen to WVXU because they recognize my name when I call.”
Gratitude for Our audience
“Public radio has been my career for a very long time, and no one is more appreciative of our listeners and their generosity than me. Thank you for the years of trust you’ve placed in me and my team.”
Want to show some love to Maryanne and her award-winning News Team? Consider a donation to 91.7 WVXU today!