Joe Calderone
From Pizza Maker to Sports Anchor
To many, there is no better combination than sports and pizza. And if you’re a fan of either, then you’ve probably heard the name Joe Calderone. Joe, a 1996 FM grad, is Capital News 9’s top sports anchor and part-time pizza shop worker.
“My family owns and operates a pizza shop in Broadalbin where my three younger brothers and I worked growing up,” says Joe. “After high school I thought do I want to go to college or do I want to keep working. By going to FM, I was able to do both.”
Although Joe was a Business Administration major, he gained a vast interest in media work and jumped right into the field by doing internships at both WRGB-TV and WCSS radio. Phil Spencer, WCSS’s salesman, liked Joe so much he asked if he’d like to do the morning news. Although the hours were horrific and there was no pay involved, Joe knew the experience would be worth it.
Joe went on to earn a Mass Media Communications degree at SUNY Plattsburgh. While there, Joe ran the college’s TV station where he was in charge of three 30-minute shows. Two weeks before graduating from Plattsburgh, Joe landed a job at WPTZ, an NBC affiliate, where he ran audiotapes.
“In the ten years I’ve been in the communications field, this was the best experience I had,” Joe says. “Getting out there and starting from scratch, all behind-the-scenes, was great. Frustrating at times, but great.”
In January of 2000, Joe left Plattsburgh for a life in White River Junction, Vermont and a job at WNNE where he started out as the producer of news and sports and quickly took over as the sports anchor - without any on-air experience.
“I had an anxiety attack 15 minutes prior to going on live, I totally almost left,” says Joe. But once he was on, he was hooked. And everyone saw he had a real knack for it. Joe says he owes a lot of his on-air personality to his sports anchor idol, Rick Renner, formally of WRGB, Albany’s CBS affiliate.
“Rick was always taking risks. He would outwork everyone while having a blast doing it, that’s the way I wanted to be,” says Joe. “Rick’s motto was ‘People are going to hate you or love you’. I guess that’s why I’ve never been afraid to be a little hammy and take chances – I just put all my energy into it and go with it.”
Within a two year time span, Joe had lived in 12 different apartments as he took on various jobs in New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It wasn’t until December 2004 that Joe finally found what he was looking for – a full-time position as a sports anchor for Capital News 9 in Albany.
“I love Capital News 9 and the people I work with,” says Joe. “And I love covering sports. I never played in high school because I was busy working at my family’s pizza business but right now it’s my life. I get to do cool things and cover so much, it’s such a rush. Where else can you spend your summer seeking out and playing the area’s best miniature golf locations and get paid for it?”
Joe is now known as the “sports guy” on Channel 9, but one day that may change. “I would love to host my own show, like on the Food Network or Travel Network. That would be my dream job.”
