Terry Gross
(born 1951) is the host and co-executive producer of Fresh Air
, an interview format radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed throughout the United States by National Public Radio. Gross has won praise over the years for her low-key and friendly yet often probing interview style and for the diversity of her guests. She has a reputation for researching her guests' entire lives and asking them about lesser known aspects of their early careers. [1]
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TERRY GROSS TICKETS
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Biography
Gross grew up in
Sheepshead Bay,
Brooklyn, New York. She earned a Bachelor's degree in English and a Master's in communications from the
State University of New York at Buffalo. She began a teaching career, but said that she was "totally unequipped" for the job, and was fired after only six weeks.
[2] She began her radio career in 1973 at
WBFO, a
public radio station in
Buffalo, New York, where she had been volunteering. In 1975 she moved to
WHYY-FM in
Philadelphia to host and produce
Fresh Air
, which was a local interview program at the time. In 1985,
Fresh Air with Terry Gross
went national, being distributed weekly by
NPR. It became a daily program two years later.
Gross is married to
Francis Davis, jazz critic of the
Village Voice.
The
couple have no
children. In an interview with
B.D. Wong, Gross said this is a deliberate choice on their part.
[3] Because of her short haircut and the number of guests from arts and entertainment (some of whom are gay), Gross said in the introduction to
All I Did Was Ask: Conversations With Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists
that she is sometimes asked whether she is a lesbian, including one memorable instance where a guest at a social occasion speculated on Gross' sexual orientation to Gross' mother-in-law.
[4] In her interview with
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, she mentioned that she had lived in a commune.
She also starred as a guest-voice on
The Simpsons
as herself.
Interview style
The
San Francisco Chronicle
wrote that Gross's interviews are "a remarkable blend of empathy, warmth, genuine curiosity, and sharp intelligence."
[5] Gross prides herself on preparation; prior to interviewing guests, she reads their books, watches their movies, and/or listens to their CDs. The
Boston Phoenix
opined that "Terry Gross…is almost certainly the best cultural interviewer in America, and one of the best all-around interviewers, period. Her smart, thoughtful questioning pushes her guests in unlikely directions. Her interviews are revelatory in a way other people's seldom are."
Gross treats different guests differently, depending on a variety of factors. She is often more challenging with political figures than with people in the arts, who may be less prepared for such interviews and less prone to expressing themselves in canned "sound-bites."
Clashes with guests
Gross has drawn added public attention following some occasions when she has clashed with her guests, including these:
- A February 4 2002, interview with rock star Gene Simmons starts off with Gross mispronouncing Simmons' Hebrew last name. Gross questions Simmons views on the importance of money. In the interview Gross interjects "so having sex with you" (implying herself and Simmons), Simmons said, "you're going to have to get in line." Gross continued with questioning Simmons about his many liaisons. Later Simmons said "If you want to welcome me with open arms, I'm afraid you're also going to have to welcome me with open legs," to which Gross replied, "That's a really obnoxious thing to say." Unlike most Fresh Air
guests, Simmons refused to grant permission for the interview to be made available online on NPR. However, the interview appears in Gross's book All I Did Was Ask,
and unauthorized transcripts and audio of the complete original interview exist. [6] [7] [8]
- An October 8 2003 interview with Fox News television host Bill O'Reilly, who walked out of the interview because of what he considered her biased questions, creating a media controversy fed by the ongoing presidential campaign. Toward the end of the interview, O'Reilly asked Gross if she had been as tough on Al Franken, who had appeared on the program two weeks before O'Reilly. Gross responded, "No, I wasn't...we had a different interview." [9] Gross was later criticized by then NPR ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin for "an interview that was, in the end, unfair to O'Reilly". [10] Dvorkin described Gross's interviewing tactic of reading a quote critical of O'Reilly after he had walked out of the room as "unethical and unfair". [11] Gross was later supported by an NPR colleague, Mike Pesca, who contended that O'Reilly did have the opportunity to respond to a criticism that Gross read to O'Reilly leveled by People Magazine
but that he defaulted by prematurely abandoning the interview.
On September 24, 2004, Gross and O'Reilly met again on O'Reilly's television show in which Gross assured O'Reilly "that no matter what you ask me, I'm staying for the entire interview." [12]
- A February 9 2005, interview of Lynne Cheney, conservative author and wife of former vice president Dick Cheney. The initial focus of the interview was on Cheney's latest history book, but Gross moved on to questions about Cheney's lesbian daughter Mary and her opinion of the Bush administration's opposition to same-sex marriage. [13] Cheney declined to comment on her daughter's sexuality, but repeatedly stated her opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, which was being endorsed by President Bush. Cheney declined to discuss the matter further. Later, when Gross brought the interview back to issues of gay rights, Cheney again refused to comment. According to producers, Cheney had been warned that she would be asked about politics and current events. [14]
Awards
- 1981 Corporation for Public Broadcasting Award for "Best Live Radio Program,"
- 1987 Ohio State Award
- 1993 Peabody Award
- 1999 The Foundation of American Women In Radio and Television's Gracie Allen Award
- 2003 CPB Edward R. Murrow Award [15]
- 2007 Literarian Award, National Book Foundation
- 2008 WHYY National Book Foundation Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community
Bibliography
Audio collections
- (1998) Fresh Air: On Stage & Screen
(cassette)
- (2000) Fresh Air on Stage and Screen Vol 2
(CD)
- (2004) Fresh Air Laughs with Terry Gross [UNABRIDGED]
(CD)
References
- Turning the Tables on Terry Gross: ''Salon'' Gets Personal With NPR'S Maestro of Conversation
- Terry Gross: Producer and Host of National Public Radio’s 'Fresh Air' - Biography
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- All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists
- Inside WBUR: Terry Gross
- Leader and Bassist of the Band Kiss, Gene Simmons
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- Gross vs. O'Reilly: Culture Clash on NPR
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- A Week of Insults on NPR
- CPB Names Terry Gross 2003 Murrow Award Recipient