Meet the Hawk’s Newest Voice Behind the Microphone

Hey, my name is Jay Franiak, and if you were wondering who that new voice is that you've heard the past few days on the Hawk in the afternoons, well, it's me!

I knew I would love Binghamton when I first started visiting the area in my college years. The one reason? Pizza. Specifically, the pie that Binghamton was making before the rest of the world caught on and is now trying to duplicate. Let's be honest- there's no duplicating a Binghamton breakfast pizza! The first time I tried a slice, I was hooked on it, so when I was asked to join the crew at 98.1 The Hawk it was a no brainer, I was ready and so was my belly...for breakfast pizza.

I'd visited Binghamton a few times during my years at Wilkes University for parades and family gatherings. It was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to return to the area and give radio in this town a shot and so I knew it was meant to be when I stumbled across a job listing one day while lying in bed, and sent resume in right away. And by the way, if you're applying for a job, I'd suggest using a clever subject line in your email, it worked for me!

So who am I?

Well I’m originally from Northeast Philadelphia where we take pride in our bread and rolls, our Eagles, and our ethnic food. I am Polish so anything with cabbage and pork tops my list and that includes pork roll. If you don't know what pork roll is, I've been told that there's a grocery store on the Vestal Parkway that's based out of Pennsylvania and that they carry pork roll. Do it. Go there and buy some. You won't regret it. Oh, and while you're at it, I heard that also have Amoroso's rolls. Get those too.

This is totally left field, but when I was younger I actually wanted to be a clown. I would dress in costume and march around our street in eighty-degree weather, even as the plastic clown hair stuck to my face. I guess my family knew I was destined to do something crazy like radio, since they never stopped me. That or the fact they were just too tired of my antics.

My parents still live in the Philadelphia area with our dog Meadow. Meadow is named after the Sopranos series on HBO and is hyper 12-year-old Labradoodle. I have a younger sister who is a graphic designer and is actually pretty good at it (she may be the golden child of the family. No wait, she is). I like to spend my summers down at the Jersey shore listening to music on the beach and doing nothing. Doing nothing is a great activity.

When I can, I love to cook. I am willing to try any recipe and if I mess up I usually just throw some hot sauce on top to solve my problem. My favorite thing to make is probably my fancy Sloppy Joes with pickled jalapenos.

So there you have it. Now you know who I am where I come from. If you want to know more, listen to me on the Hawk weekdays from 3pm-7pm.