How I Work - Jason DeRusha

Today FTVLive heads to frozen Minneapolis and CBS O&O WCCO to catch up with Morning Anchor and social media guru Jason DeRusha to see how he works.

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Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Current gig: Morning/Noon Anchor
Current computer: At work, a company-issued Dell PC with webcam for Skype interviews and two sweet monitors. At home I have a desktop iMac and a Mac Mini.
Current mobile device: iPhone 5, iPad
One word that best describes how you work: Multi-tasking.
 
What are your favorite Apps that you can't live without?

Feedly, Yahoo! Sports, currently spending a lot of time playing Minion Rush (thanks kids for introducing me to that). Obviously Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Pages (we administer our Morning Show page), and Instagram.
 
What's your workspace like?

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It used to be a mess, but my desk recently moved to the spot right outside the news director’s office. So now I try to keep it clean.  I keep TweetDeck on the monitor on the right, the iNews software and email on the left.
 
I love pens, so I have a coffee mug full of cool, unique pens.
 
Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can't you live without?  

The weird-looking plastic thing with a handle on my desk is my Clever Coffee Dripper. I love coffee, so I bring in my own from home and make a single cup of the good stuff. Pop in a filter, cover with hot water, it drips right into my WCCO mug. (I drink Dogwood Coffee and Bull Run Coffee – both great Minnesota coffee roasters).
 
What Music are you listening to?

I am an unabashed pop music lover. My coworkers constantly rib me about liking Taylor Swift, they certainly could rip on the fact that I dig Ke$ha.
 
What's your sleep routine like?

Ha! The life of a morning anchor! I typically go to sleep at the same time my 6 and 8-year-old sons sleep: 8pm. My alarm goes off at 2:28am, so I can get out the door at 3am, and get to work at 3:30am. We’re on the air at 4:30am. 6 ½ hours is about what I got when I was a nightside reporter, so I feel pretty rested. I sometimes get an hour nap before the kids get off the bus at 3:45pm.
 
Best Advice you Ever Got?

When I was in college, my mentor was a very polarizing anchor – he always ranked #1 as most loved and #1 as most hated. He told me that if 40% of the audience LOVES him, and 60% hates him, then he’s getting Super Bowl-like ratings every night. It gave me the freedom to be myself on the air. But “be yourself” isn’t enough – you also have to work harder than most. Thanks, Jerry Taff from WISN-TV!
 
Best Thing About your Job?

We have total creative freedom to try whatever we want. And my coworkers are a lot of fun. It takes a special person (on and off-air) to be functional before 7am.
 
Worst thing about your Job?

Getting dressed in the dark. I also miss seeing the nightside people I worked with here for the last ten years!