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CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. Bruce Murray hosts a national sports talk radio show, Murray in the Middle, on SiriusXMs Mad Dog Radio from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and makes regular appearances on Daily News Live! on SNY. The Chappaqua resident took the time to talk to Main Street Connect about his love for Chappaqua, his two current jobs and his beloved New Jersey Nets moving to Brooklyn.
Question: How did you wind up in Chappaqua? Whats your favorite thing about the town?
Answer: When (my wife and I) were moving back (east), I had friends that lived in Westchester and we had made a couple of trips in to look a different towns. We had made so many trips that at some point everything started to look the same. My sister lives in Chappaqua. It just came down to, all things being equal, we knew we wanted to find a school district for our kids and Chappaqua provided it. All things being equal, we just wanted to be near where our family is. I cant say that were disappointed. We do like the fact that its small and quiet. We have a wonderful piece of property. Its just beautiful. All of Westchester I think is beautiful.
Q: Which medium, radio or television, do you find more fulfilling, and which do you find is more effective at engaging your audience?
A: Ive always felt that radio, largely because Ive done it for the better part of my life, is more satisfying to me. I love doing TV, but its driven by somebody else. I love doing television, dont get me wrong. When I show up and do radio, Im the one who sits down and says, What do I want to talk about today? I can go off track. I have the freedom to do that. In terms of satisfying an audience, when you get to engage them personally, its a totally different level of interaction.
Q: In todays age of sports media, it seems that there are a lot of loud voices. Hosts and analysts feel they have to be extreme and controversial, and athletes are either condemned or hyped to sometimes ridiculous proportions. You seem to have a more moderate voice. Is that something youre conscious of, that youve built intentionally?
A: I dont want to say Im not conscious of it. Im conscious of it because people have actually talked to me about it. Its not something that Ive contrived or desired to pursue. Its just my personality. Too many of us like to overreact. Its the only way (some people in this business) think they can manage a show. Sometimes we dont always know what peoples motives were. Unfortunately, my business has been driven by sensationalism, many have succeeded at very high levels. I wasnt going to create a persona that I wasnt. The one thing I always said is if you try, two weeks later youre going to forget what you said and sound hypocritical.
Portions of this interview were edited.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of our exclusive Q&A with Bruce Murray.
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