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.

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?

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!