Syracuse N.Y. - Telling a good sports story can be much harder than it seems. Just ask a two-time North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year winner.
"People say, 'Well, what’s the most important part of your job?' and it’s writing, it’s writing," said Jeff Gravley, WRAL-TV's Sports Anchor/Reporter in Raleigh, North Carolina.
"It’s being able to write in brevity but also being able to describe what’s going on effectively and efficiently," Gravley said.
A seven-time regional Emmy Award winner and twice named North Carolina's Sportscaster of the Year, Jeff Gravley exudes the kind of laid back nature more akin to your local librarian than the voice of a region.
A 1985 graduate of North Carolina State University, Gravley was in Raleigh's RBC Center on a night that changed many people's lives forever. It wasn't a sporting event that left its mark on Gravley's memory that night, but rather a speech. The words which still linger in Gravley's memory from that night were delivered by the late N.C. State Head Coach Jim Valvano. The now famous "Never Give Up" speech given by the Wolfpack's cancer-ridden coach is widely seen as one of the most inspirational sports speeches ever.
After graduating college with a B.A. in Speech Communication, Gravley was offered a full time job at Raleigh's WRAL-TV as a news photographer. Having previously interned at the station, Gravley worked his way up from news photographer to sports anchor over the next decade.
In 1995 Gravley was offered the position of WRAL's 10 p.m. sports anchor. Over the next five years he would make his presence felt at WRAL, and throughout the state, by winning North Carolina's Sportscaster of the Year in 1998.
In 2000, when markets such as Phoenix and Dallas came calling, it was Cleveland where Gravley and his family decided to make their next home.
"And of course my wife and I said we’ll do anywhere but Cleveland…so that’s where we ended up," Gravely said.
Born in Rocky Mount, N.C. and raised in the Tar Heel State, Gravley is a born and bred Southerner. But he adapted quickly to his new market and produced a documentary on an incredible high school athlete: LeBron James.
Gravley returned to WRAL in 2003 and became the lead sports anchor in 2008. He's worked Super Bowls, Final Fours, and the Stanley Cup Finals, and is also a Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Award voter. But it was leaving the Tar Heel State that changed his life.
"My mother-in-law always said it was like going away and getting my master's degree. When I came back to WRAL I felt like I was better prepared to do what I wanted to do."
Gravley says he is a lover of Jimmy Buffet songs, all things N.C. State, and above all else, his wife, Mary and daughter, Megan.
Listen to the Full Interview Here
Transcript
MC: I’m joined today by WRAL-TV's sports anchor/reporter Jeff Gravley. Jeff is a seven-time regional Emmy Award winner. He is also a two-time North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year recipient by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Additionally, Jeff is a Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Award voter. He has covered events such as the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and the Stanley Cup Finals. And Jeff even helped to produce a documentary on LeBron James’ high school career.
MC: Jeff thank you so much for taking some time to speak with me.
JG: Oh I’m glad to.
MC: Jeff you started off at WRAL as a sports intern in 1985, and then you became a news photographer, before eventually coming back to the sports department. What was it about news photography that piqued your interest?
JG: Well actually it was the first opportunity to have a full time job. So it was either take that or take a part time job. I had applied for jobs all over the state in sports and didn’t get any of them. So the news director at WRAL at the time had seen me as an intern, knew I could shoot. He called me one day and said “You wanna be a news photographer?” and I was like…and he goes “Well do ya?” And I’m like “Ahh yeah! Sure! I’ll do it!” And so I did it for for about six months. And our sports photographer -- who I trained under -- then became the chief photographer and an opening came in sports so that led me back into the sports department full time.
MC: Now when you came back into sports you were a reporter. Is that correct?
JG: Yeah, I was initially just a photographer and then I became a photographer and a reporter. We did a lot of one-man band stories where we’d go out and shoot, write, edit, voice and do the whole thing. And so I kind of evolved into that. I never really had aspirations to go on the air. I just liked editing and photography. But then I started doing some reporting and I enjoyed the writing part of it. And then eventually, ten years after my career started, I got a chance to sit on the anchor desk and enjoyed that as well.
MC: And in 1995 you became the lead sports anchor at WRAL. Tell me about the shift in responsibilities from being a reporter to an anchor.
JG: It’s a lot different in that…I tell people all the time it’s easy to write a five-page paper. It’s hard to write a 20 second VO. So you gotta make sure you have all the pertinent information in there. You gotta make sure you have all the facts right. And you gotta figure out the most important things. And that was the biggest challenge, and still is today as an anchor, is to take a three-hour game and sometimes we’re doing those highlights in 30 seconds. So how do you write it? How do you communicate it well enough? And that was the biggest challenge. Even in reporting with a minute and a half is not very long, but doing a game in a 30 second VO is also a challenge, and that’s when people say, “Well what’s the most important part of your job?” And it’s writing. It’s writing. It’s being able to write in brevity but also being able to describe what’s going on effectively and efficiently.
MC: It’s funny you say that because I’ve found…we’re in a summer boot camp session here at Syracuse right now, and I’m a broadcast and digital journalism major. And I have found that to be the exact same effort for me…is being able to be concise and brief in my writing. We’re charged with creating one-minute radio wraps on news stories, and to be able to tell a story in less than a minute is a real challenge. And you’re right, the writing aspect, for me anyways, is the most difficult part of the job.
JG: And that just comes with more experience. And you know, even today I’ll sit down to write a story sometimes and I’ll initially write it and it’s two minutes and then I gotta get it down to 30 seconds to deliver on the air. That always is the challenge no matter how long you’ve been in the business.
MC: And in 2000 you moved over to WEWS in Cleveland. What made you make that move?
JG: Well it was an opportunity. Our daughter was just getting ready to go into the first grade and I was like…you know what, if we’re ever going to move it’s going to be now. So I sent my resume out and there were three opportunities: Phoenix, Dallas, and Cleveland. And of course my wife and I said we’ll do anywhere but Cleveland…so that’s where we ended up! But it was really good. No one knew who I was up there. I had no clue, I had never been there before, and it was the ultimate challenge to try and see if I could succeed up there and I did. I was in a quote “foreign market” for me. I’m a southern guy. That’s where I was born and bred and I moved up north and we had a great time up there. Like I said, it was when LeBron was in high school and we got to do a documentary on him, on his junior year from football season all the way through the state championship. so that was pretty cool.
MC: I was reading that in your bio. I found that really interesting. Can you talk to me a little bit about how big of a name LeBron James was even as a high school athlete in the Cleveland area?
JG: Well, he was a phenom in Ohio from the eighth grade on. But once he got to his sophomore/junior year he became a national story. And we had done our homework on him and really wanted to do a one-year documentary on him. And his mom agreed to do it, she trusted us, she allowed us to come over to their little two-bedroom apartment and just gave us the freedom to let us do what we needed. And that was pretty amazing to see. It was like right after his junior year and that’s when we started seeing ESPN come in and actually broadcast some of his high school games in Cleveland. But we had already known about him for a long time and it was after that that he just became a cult figure in Ohio. And then to be drafted by the Cavaliers out of high school was pretty surreal. I didn’t think it would be the best move for him but he turned it into the best move for him. I thought that there would be too many people around that knew him, wanted things from him, but he made it work. And glad he was able to come back to Cleveland again and hopefully win that elusive championship for the city.
MC: Well speaking of coming back to places, you came back to WRAL in 2003 and took over as lead sports anchor in 2008. How did your perspective change on the sports scene in North Carolina when you came back?
JG: Even though the schools were the same, I had changed quite a bit as far as my approach and how I was an anchor. You know when you’re in a professional market you’re dealing with agents, general
managers and team presidents. And when you cover colleges you’re dealing with sports information directors, coaches, and athletics directors. And it helped me when I came back to be able to deal with a lot more of the business side of college sports. It’s not just all about the games and being able to go to a professional market and learn that really helped me out. My mother-in-law always said it was like going away and getting my masters degree. When I came back to WRAL I felt like I was better prepared to do what I wanted to do there at RAL.
MC: And Jeff, you are a Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Award voter. I’ve always wondered this: Can you tell me about the responsibilities behind those votes and how much time you devote each fall to absorbing college football?
JG: You know I do take that very seriously and it is a responsibility that I don’t just flippantly say “oh I’m gonna vote for this person or that person.” I do study throughout the year. I divide it into quarters. I take the first quarter of season and start to make my list of people. Mid-way through the season I’ll trim my list a little bit. Three quarters the way through the season I’ve got my list down to about five. And then from there I will cast my final ballot. I look at how they perform not only in their games but sometimes you’ll see some of these smaller schools produce great receivers. And the Biletnikoff Award. And so how did they do against the bigger teams they played. If they lift them up, then I give them a little more extra credit. So I kind of have my own formula of how I vote and who I vote for and who I look for and just carry it all the way through the season. But I do take it very seriously.
MC: Jeff Gravley I appreciate your time today. Thank you so much!
JG: No problem! And good luck to you!
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