Trish Bergin Makin' Waves On & Off The Air
Long Island Woman - January 2003
By David Criblez
Trish Bergin is not your typical thirtysomething. With 13 years as a broadcast journalist and two Emmy nominations under her belt, Bergin is miles above most members of her generation. Known to many for her tenure at Cablevision's News 12 Long Island, Bergin grew up in Ronkonkoma and currently resides in Islip. Her low-key on-air style matches her off-air witty Irish girl-next-door appeal, Presently, she's working with Inside Edition, a 15-year-running TV newsmagazine, as a weekend co-anchor and fill-in for weekday anchor Deborah Norville. Bergin unintentionally made national headlines when she dated Long Island singer/songwriter Billy Joel. LONG ISLAND WOMAN recently spoke with Bergin about her experience as a broadcast journalist, her infamous relationship with Joel and why she's not your typical newscaster."
LONG ISLAND WOMAN: How do you like your new position and how would you compare it to your old jobs?
Trish Bergin: I've gone from local TV to national, so that's a big jump for me. But, I love it. Everyone at Inside Edition has been really great with the transition. Usually it's kind of uncomfortable when you start a new job, but everybody was really wonderful. Plus, it's nice to be part of a show that I watched all the time. It's exciting for me.
How did you get the job?
When I was working at Channel 2 WCBS- TV, Charles Lachman, executive producer of Inside Edition, used to watch me. He always liked my work, so he kept me in the back of his mind. When the opportunity opened up to be Deborah Norville's fill-in/weekend anchor, he phoned me and said, "Come in and let's talk."
How are you gelling with your co-anchor Don Criqui?
Very well, he's a witty man. He's got that dry sense of humor. Both my parents are from Ireland so I'm used to that dry witty Irish humor. We have a good time together.
Were you concerned about being compared to Deborah?
No, I've been compared to her before. A few years ago, The New York Times wrote an article and called me the "Deborah Norville look-alike." So it's funny that I now fill in for her. I took it as a compliment. I have always admired Deborah's work. I don't know if it's because there's a little resemblance there or not. I like her style. I watched her on the Today Show when she went through that hell of a time. I always admired the way she handled all of that.
Does it feel different to be in front of a national audience as opposed to a local audience?
Not really. I do the same thing at every show that I've ever worked at. I really try to sort of convince myself that the only people who are watching me are the six people in the studio working the cameras. If I thought about the number of people who watch our show, I don't think I'd get through it.
How would you describe your on-air personality?
I'm definitely,a more laid-back kind of anchor, that's why typically news
directors have put me in positions where I'm a morning show anchor. I
used to fill in for the morning news show at CBS and when I worked at
News 12 I was instantly made a morning show anchor there. I like to show
a little more personality than just reading the news. More serious people
tend to be placed in the evening hours because people want to get to the
news and hear what's going on.
Is it difficult to hold back your emotions when you're working?
As a journalist, you're supposed to stay on the fence and not have an opinion. But I'm still a human being and I have emotions. On Sept. 11, I lost a good friend of mine. Doing the news that day, I had to step off camera because I started to cry.
Did Sept. 11 change you as a reporter in any way? Did it make you hesitant to go "on the scene"?
It didn't frighten me. I went down to Ground Zero the next day and reported from there while I stayed in a hotel for about a week. I don't think it has changed me as far as being afraid to go to a scene, I think it's changed me as far as putting my priorities in order. When you have a front seat to a scene like that, you start to look at life a little bit differently sometimes. It's so much more compelling when you're right there than when you are watching it on TV. It made me think about what's really important.
What story that you reported on sticks with you even years after it aired?
There was a grandmother that I did a story on. She had three crack-addicted daughters who turned out 13 children between the three of them. They couldn't care for these kids so they kept on giving the kids to the grandmother who ended up with 13 children to look after. She was getting it done, but she was living in a welfare motel. The government told her that she needed to move to a bigger house, yet she couldn't find a house on Long Island that would legally accommodate 13 children. She was going to court because she was losing custody of all these children. My mother was one of 12 children growing up on a farm in Ireland, so that story really hit home.
What two stories are you most proud of?
TWA Flight 800 because that was such an important story for so many families who were sitting on the edge of their seats. I was the only reporter in the entire world who was out there on a boat giving them information. That was very important to me. The other story would have to be that grandmother because we found her a house. Our coverage prompted a landlord to come forward and offer her a house that was big enough.
What kind of setting did you grow up in?
There's three kids in my family. I have an older brother and sister, so I'm the youngest. We're close but we don't have any family in this country. All my aunts, uncles and cousins are in Ireland and I try to go visit every other year.
What drew you to broadcast journalism?
My dad was a big news junkie when I was a kid growing up. He would watch the 5 o'clock news, 5:30pm news and 6 o'clock news. He listened to news radio and read three newspapers a day. News was always on in my house. At first, I wanted to be a print journalist and then I sort of fell into TV.
Some people think that our media is too strong and that we give away too much information in this country. What's your opinion?
I've been in situations where I had to make some quick decisions whether or not
to release certain information that maybe wasn't appropriate. I was in
a boat in the middle of the ocean reporting on TWA Flight 800 while the
plane was still on fire. There was all kinds of debris floating by our
boat. We didn't know if it was a body or a bag. We pulled out a little
girl's suitcase that had her name on it and address. In that situation,
I opted not to reveal the person's name in case there were friends and
family watching. I didn't want them to hear about it from me. I kind of
do my own filtering. Some journalism professors would say that's unethical
that you should be the gatekeeper. But, I'm sorry.. I have emotions and
feelings.
Women in broadcast journalism seem to have a shorter career span than men. Do you think that's unfair?
Damn it, it is unfair! (laughs) But, this industry continues to evolve.
I've been in it for 13 years now and I've seen big changes. We've gone
from that stone cold theory of journalism: don't raise your eyebrows because
that shows expression in your face, don't smile because that means you're
in favor of the story. Now, that's all gone right out the window. In college,
they'd tell us, "Dress very conservatively." Now the trendier the better,
it seems. If you look at TV in Miami or Los Angeles, they have Playboy
Bunnies doing the weather! Things have changed. I think women longer.
We see Diane Sawyer still on the air and Barbara Walters. It tends to
keep changing.
Does the whole "look" aspect bother you at all?
It used to bother me when I was younger. I had kind of a reverse battle. I was 22 years old anchoring the 5 to 10 o'clock newscast on Channel 5. I was too young for the job. They wanted me to look older. I was told, "Cut your hair this way. Wear bigger jewelry. Wear more make-up." I was young-looking and good at what I did, so I got the job. They needed me to look older so when I was talking about Bill Clinton's economic plan, people would think I knew what I was talking about and that I wasn't some kid off the street. When I turn 45 and my shelf life is over, there's a chance that I might have to go do something else. That's why I got my master's, so I can teach at a university someday.
Would you ever consider plastic surgery?
I've never done it. But get back to me in 20 years.
Do you choose all your clothes for the air?
It's all my own choices. When you've been in the business for a while, you get a clue. I don't wear suits because I find it a little stuffy and it doesn't fit my personality. I dress a little more trendy than the norm.
Do you have any fashion tips for the women of Long Island?
Actually, I have a great little secret for all the women on Long Island. There's, a store called Fox's in Mineola that has fabulous discount designer clothing. I go there all the time. A lot of women in TV shop there.
You dated singer/songwriter Billy joel for a while and your relationship was
widely broadcasted. Was it difficult having your relationship with Billy
in the news while you were doing the news?
It was pretty tricky sometimes.
I remember I was anchoring the morning show at News 12 and we had to do
the story that he had gone into a rehab facility. We couldn't ignore the
story because it was a news event. But part of the story was that he was
saying my getting married is what sent him into a rehab center. So how
do I read that? I had to ask my co-anchor to read it. After he read it,
we had to continue with the rest of the news. I had to read the next story.
I felt like I had mud dripping off my face. There was another situation
where Billy came into our studios to be interviewed. I was the person
who was supposed to interview him, but I couldn't because we were dating
at the time. My co-anchor was out on assignment so we started going around
the studio asking, "Is there an on-air talent here who can do this interview
for Trish?"
Did that kind of exposure hurt your career in any way?
No, it didn't hurt my career, but sometimes it did hurt my feelings. You have to realize that Billy Joel is New York's son. Everybody loves the man. He went into a rehab center when I got married. I was on my honeymoon on Fire Island when I heard about the story because I got the newspapers. The only things I don't read or pay much attention to are the real tabloids because it's just full of nonsense. One story said that Billy had to hire fashion consultants because I didn't know how to dress. My friends and I laughed at that because we wondered how they come up with this stuff.
How did you meet your husband? My husband is an environmental attorney. He
grew up on Long Island but lived in California for 10 years. He moved
back and was sitting at a table in a restaurant next to me. He was with
one of his friends and I was with a girlfriend. This was after Billy and
I had broken up and I was telling my girlfriend, "I hate men. I don't
want to see another man for the rest of my life." He came over to our
table and introduced himself. He didn't know who I was because he had
just moved here from California, which was very charming. Now we're married
with a baby and we are very excited.
You received two Emmy nominations. Were you very disappointed you didn't win?
I'm like the Susan Lucci of broadcast journalism! (laughs) I was
very excited about the nominations and I was hoping to win. Last time
I was up against Tim Minton at Channel 4 News and he's tough competition.
He went home with the statue. Maybe next time.
