Tom Gregory, ’84, M.S.Ed. ’89, Tells Stories Through a Cultural Lens
By Tony Scott
Tom Gregory, '84, M.S.Ed. '89, is a New Orleans-based TV host, producer and writer. (Photo: Eric Carle, Jr. /tGO Productions)
Tom Gregory, ’84, M.S.Ed. ’89, is a New Orleans-based Emmy Award-winning TV host, producer, and writer who still looks back with fondness on his days at NIU.
“My career path has been diverse, encompassing radio, news, sports, travel and entertainment television,” he said. “But it all began at Northern Illinois University.”
Gregory was born on Chicago’s South Side and grew up in suburban Mount Prospect, Illinois, with two brothers. His father was a junior high school principal who also taught master’s level education courses at Northeastern Illinois University, and his mother was a nurse.
Gregory fell in love with radio at an early age while tuning in to Chicago disc jockeys.
"Steve Dahl and Gerry Meier inspired me to go into broadcasting," he said. "I saw the duo broadcast live and said, 'That’s what I want to do: I want to make people laugh and think simultaneously.' I later began to follow Bob Sirott's career path, who moved seamlessly between radio and TV and did both so well. The dream of a Chicago radio career was a powerful force that led me to NIU. While that specific dream didn’t materialize, the journey has been invaluable, shaping me into the person I am today.”
Gregory chose a radio/TV/film major in what was the communication studies department, while also pursuing a math minor as he was exploring various opportunities.
He found himself heavily involved in NIU’s radio station.
“Like my career path, my NIU experience was varied and diverse,” he said. “My first foray into broadcasting came through WKDI, the student-run alternative rock station. There, I held roles as a DJ, movie critic, and research director, even continuing my involvement with the station while pursuing my master's in education.”
He also spent a year as a resident assistant in Stevenson North, which significantly shaped his time at NIU.
“The enduring friendships forged on that floor helped define who I am today,” he said. “Professionally, the role taught me the value of diverse approaches to achieving goals, a liberating and inspiring realization.”
Gregory was positively influenced by faculty who helped him find his way in a competitive profession.
“Although I didn’t fully grasp their influence at the time, their teachings have proven invaluable,” he said. “My film and radio production courses, with their emphasis on hands-on learning, were instrumental. From shooting Super 8mm film and editing with razor blades to restoring decades-old radio broadcasts, I developed a deep appreciation for the craft and the importance of meticulous work.”
(Photo: WYES-TV)
The classes cultivated a desire to build a well-rounded broadcasting skillset, he said, which helped him professionally.
“When the industry changed, the foundation I built at NIU enabled me to pivot and find new opportunities,” he said. “Ultimately, my instructors instilled in me the understanding that storytelling is the heart of our industry. While technology and audience preferences evolve, the power of a compelling narrative endures.”
Gregory has been part of a number of productions that tell meaningful stories, from producing impactful documentaries to acting in a biopic on the boxer George Foreman released on Netflix last year.
“Awards are gratifying, but the true measure of success is your work's impact on others,” he said. “As a storyteller, sharing someone's narrative and witnessing their emotional response is incredibly rewarding. When that story resonates beyond the individual and makes a tangible difference in the world, that is the highest reward possible.”
One of his documentaries, “Vanishing Coast, Vanishing Safety,” airing just a month before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, explored the critical link between Louisiana’s disappearing wetlands and their growing threat to its residents.
“The film offered a blueprint for survival,” he said. “To hear later that it saved lives was both humbling and heartbreaking.”
Gregory also produced a series a year after Katrina called “Renewing New Orleans: Keeping America’s Beat,” showing his beloved town recovering from the storm through a cultural lens.
“By challenging misconceptions about the ongoing recovery, we helped dispel the myth of a city in ruins and inspired hope for the future,” he said.
Gregory was most recently the host of YurView's "Driven" series, which put him in the driver’s seat of a 600-horsepower race car, a military vehicle on safari and a $100,000 EV motorcycle prototype. The series was honored with seven National Telly Awards, including three in 2024 for the "Return to Route 66" special. Building on this success, Gregory is developing a limited docu-reality series that will offer a creative take on this iconic highway and the unforgettable people who call the road home.
“The project would also give me an opportunity for the first time to come back and film in my home state of Illinois!” he said.
Gregory has also been nominated for more than 40 regional Emmys, including being honored three times for On-Camera Host for the travel adventure series "GO Coast: Louisiana." While hosting that series, he experienced feeding alligators, deep sea fishing, crawfishing, joining a Cajun band, and flyboarding.
This school year, Gregory is also putting his master's degree to use teaching and developing the curriculum for a content creation and video production class for juniors and seniors at Metairie Park Country Day School in Metairie, Louisiana.
"It’s only one class, but it allows me to use my background in education and keeps me near my two daughters who attend middle school there," he said.
Gregory said he has seen a variety of challenges in the TV and film industry, especially for independent productions, but he sees opportunities as well. Like a true Huskie, he exudes resilience and pivots when necessary.
“While my TV series ‘Driven’ and ‘GO Coast,’ were funded by the network and stations, the series ended due to internal restructuring, which underscored the industry's evolving challenges,” he said. “Such setbacks, especially when out of the producer’s control, though disheartening, are not uncommon in the world of independent filmmaking. Yet, amidst these challenges, new opportunities abound. From grants and crowdfunding to sponsorships and streaming platforms, the path to storytelling is broadening. I'm excited to explore these new avenues as I develop future projects.”
Gregory said Huskies will always have a connection to NIU and DeKalb, no matter where they live.
“That connection is more than mastering skills and gaining knowledge, because our time there is more than academic pursuits; it is a bond of friendships, shared dreams, and unforgettable experiences,” he said. “It is a bond that connects us regardless of distance.”