Tuesday, April 16, 1996
By Kathleen Rhames
Daily Bruin Contributor
Mike Jerrick is a TV junkie. He watches CNN, is an avid sports
fan and even has his own talk show.
"There aren’t too many other professions that give you that
adrenaline rush when you’re on the air," he says. "The excitement
of it every single day where you’re constantly having to learn and
study and absorb all sorts of information  I find that
interesting."
The public obviously finds him interesting: interesting enough
to host CNBC’s new talk show "America After Hours" which airs
weeknights at 11 p. m. Eastern time.
The show, which premiered as an entertainment-based program set
to compete with the likes of Letterman and Leno, has suddenly
changed direction two months into taping. The new course has
Jerrick applauding.
"In the last 10 days or so, we have completely abandoned the
entertainment angle," Jerrick says. "We believe CNBC audiences are
interested in the issues of today. They want up to the minute
breaking news and an extended conversation about the day’s events,
so that’s what we’re giving them. We’re experimenting on the
air."
Experimenting definitely brings excitement to Jerrick’s career,
making the schedule of "America After Hours" quite unstable.
Stories change daily and, as Jerrick has discovered, are hard to
plan ahead of time. Whereas in entertainment, actors can be booked
weeks in advance, a breaking news story must be covered the day
of.
"We started out this particular day to do a story about the
recent fights on the basketball court where the players have
attacked referees," Jerrick explains. "We were going to do a couple
segments on that but we blew it all off when we heard that
7-year-old Jessica Dubroff’s plane had gone down. We had to switch
gears and decide what was going to be the top story of the
night."
Jerrick admits to liking the new format of the program,
explaining that with all the late-night entertainment talk shows
currently running, the competition stands fierce. But failure
doesn’t frighten him when it comes to taking a risk and trying
something new. Although "America After Hours" is still re-defining
its focus and is largely still up in the air in terms of subject
matter, Jerrick seems undaunted.
"What we have to do in the next couple of weeks is commit to a
certain format and then go with it and hope people watch us," he
says. "If they don’t watch, we go off the air and I have to find
another job. But that is television. It’s a really high-risk game
and it’s a game where the rules change constantly and you always
have to win or you’re out."
And Jerrick should know. A 20-year veteran of television, he got
a job out of college in Topeka, Kan. doing the weather. He credits
the little station with teaching him everything he knows about
television, from how to do news to operating the cameras. From that
point on, Jerrick knew he was meant for the small screen. Now with
"America After Hours," he is able to incorporate his flair for
reporting news into a TV program that reaches a national
audience.
"To tell you the truth I was getting tired of interviewing the
same actors over and over again anyway," Jerrick reveals. "They all
have the same background, the same goals, etc. The interesting part
about this is the stories change every day."
But behind the boyish enthusiasm lies a sense of realism that
defines the strategy of Jerrick’s success in television. He readily
acknowledges his luck over the years and is quick to realize the
mortality of one’s success in the TV business. Jerrick admits doing
"America After Hours" as "one of the toughest jobs I’ve ever had"
because of the changing format while on the air. But he maintains a
positive attitude which he insists is the way to succeed.
"I have to think it’s going to go well or I won’t do a good
job," he says candidly. "I’ve committed myself to this and yet I’m
also realistic about the business. If we don’t get good ratings I
know we’ll be off in a short amount of time. It’s just the nature
of television. Sometimes you don’t always hit a home run, you don’t
always score."
As for the future, Jerrick plans to stay loyal to television
audiences, regardless of his show’s success.
"I know this won’t be my last job in television and the world
won’t come to an end. I have the ability to interview people about
interesting things every single day, I mean you can’t beat that as
a job."
TELEVISION: "America After Hours" hosted by Mike Jerrick. Airs
weeknights 11 p.m. Eastern time.
Mike Jerrick
"There aren’t too many other professions that give you that
adrenaline rush when you’re on the air."
Mike Jerrick
Host of "America After Hours"