New GBH’s Morning Edition co-hosts Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel joined Boston Public Radio on Monday to share their “down-to-earth” approach — and how they felt after their first show.
“I was a little nervous right before we went live. And then once we were, I don't know … there's something about the presence of somebody else, as I'm sure both of you know,” Siegel told Boston Public Radio. “There's somebody else who, if you screw up, they're screwing up with you at least so you're not alone.”
“We have only known each other a short while, but I feel so comfortable with Jeremy because we've been spending all our time together,” Alston said. “So there was a comfort there, just like being able to look across the microphone and see him there put me at ease.”
Before coming to GBH, Alston and Siegel hosted podcasts at WBUR and Politico, respectively. With GBH’s Morning Edition, the pair wants to strike a balance between a standard NPR newscast and the more conversational tone of a podcast.
“I think we want to be able to present news in a more down-to-earth conversational way,” Siegel said.
“It's funny, because our executive producer, Karen Marshall, said someone tweeted at us and was like, ‘It's too upbeat. It's 7:20 on Monday morning, why are you so excited?’ which is like, part morning time, part Boston, if I gotta be honest,” Alston added. “But I think we're bringing this approach that is upbeat; we're dressing it down a little bit, we're still gonna give you the news with the authority that you want. But we want to have fun about it.”
“It's OK to have fun at 7:20 in the morning,” she continued. “That's all right.”
