NEW YORK -- Al Roker, weatherman for NBC's ‘Today show,’ released a video detailing his first big break in television – at what is now WTVH, CNYCentral, in Syracuse.
Roker says that when he was a sophomore at SUNY Oswego in 1974, he worked at WSGO radio in Oswego’s Radio Park. He was then recommended for a job doing the weather for WTVH’s weekend 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m newscasts.
Roker says his big break came when the weekday weatherman at the time made an unfortunate slip of the tongue while live on air. Roker was then promoted to the Monday through Friday newscasts.
He says he never planned to be on television; he wanted to be a producer, director or writer instead.
Roker’s advice to anyone hoping to get into television is, "Don’t just do one thing; do as many things as possible."
He says it’s good to be diversified in your skills because you never know when something will fold, or when an opportunity will present itself.
