By Rick Assad
Gary Miereanu doesn’t live in Burbank but spends enough time there to call him a resident.
Equally important is that Miereanu began his professional career in the city when he took a job as the sports editor at the Burbank Daily Review.
“I’d already been working for the [Los Angeles] Daily News for about six years, as well as the Sundial at CSUN for a few years – as an editor, writer and photographer – so I already had some strong journalistic and editorial experience,” the 1983 journalism graduate explained. “The Daily Review gave me an opportunity to spread my wings in real-time as a full-time professional, both on the local and national levels. Most days were spent focusing on the then-five high schools in Burbank, while also traveling covering the Los Angeles Raiders at home and on the road and doing feature stories at Dodger Stadium and such.”
Though in his early twenties, Miereanu, who has been at GT Marmots/Public Relations where he is a managing partner, felt comfortable at the newspaper.
“The job truly broadened my professional horizons, creating introductions to individuals who would help me rise, and working side-by-side with some of the best in the business,” he said. “Ultimately, the Daily Review paved my route to beat reporting work for other papers, covering the AFC for Sport magazine, and finding freelance writing/photography work at a wide variety of publications. It was really the perfect first-job-out-of-college.”
Miereanu, who has been the director of publicity for two legendary entities, Warner Bros. Animation from 2006 to 2008 and for Walt Disney TV Animation/Disney Toon Studios from 1997 to 2004, was given a plan to follow at the daily.
“For starters, Burbank is the best “small town” I’ve ever known. And I thoroughly embraced that identity. The sports editor before me gave space to Burroughs and Burbank High School but filled a lot of the sports section with Associated Press stories about national sports news. My first mandate was that we would use AP stories as little as possible – that we’d dedicate as much of each day’s sports section to local sports, and that meant thorough coverage of all sports for all five local high schools, plus local Parks & Recreation activities, St. Finbar’s stellar athletic program, features on notables around town … and also find room for LA-based pro and college teams,” he said. “Burbank is such a wonderful community – from the warm, welcoming citizens, cute retail shops and one-of-a-kind eateries to a topnotch police force, fun community events and intense school rivalries.”
Miereanu, who worked at the Daily Review from 1983 through 1987, recalled a time when he was scorned for being slanted in favor of one school.
“And the people really care – frequently I was called out for misperceived bias in the Review’s coverage of high school sports (I once had someone accuse me of being a biased Burbank High alum because I was wearing blue that day), but all we cared about at the Daily Review was what made the best stories,” he explained. “And there was never a lack of great stories in and around the Burbank sports scene.”
Residing in the Valley with his family, Miereanu, a native of Michigan, is no stranger to the city.
“I’m in Burbank at least two, three times each week – I still do work for Warner Bros. and Disney and have many friends at both studios. So you can find me at The Tallyrand, Patys, Forman’s Tavern, Don Cuco’s, Osaka Teriyaki House and Bob’s Big Boy quite often, grabbing delicious treats at Martino’s Bakery, Donut Hut or Donut Prince, as well shopping for comics at House of Secrets, perusing the incomparable array of books/magazines at Autobooks-Aerobooks, and even taking some swings at the BatCade,” he said. “And if you really want to see “small town” Burbank at its finest, check out the annual “Holiday in the Park” event. It’s like a little slice of Americana.”
Taking it all in from a forty-year perspective affords Miereanu, who spent 1995 through 1997 at Stoorza, Ziegaus & Metzger as an account supervisor in the public relations department, a prescient eye.
“There were so many great adventures, but I think the true highlight of my Daily Review career was getting the chance to hone my skills in an environment that allowed for creativity and partnerships that really showed me how to create and lead, and paved the way to a very entertaining future,” he offered. “I have people like Frances Fernandes and Jean Hart Gillette to thank for affording me that level of trust and freedom.”
Though long in Miereanu’s past, working at the Daily Review remains as fresh today as when he worked there.
“Some of my favorite relationships – spanning forty plus years now – are rooted in working at the Burbank Daily Review,” he recalled. “They include my coworkers, like John Melson, Paul Schneider, Jesse Barkin and the great Ross Benson, who should have his own statue in Burbank someday; people integral to the sports scene, like Mickey DePalo, Mike Graceffo; and former athletes like an incredible group of women (I still think they’re all 15 years old) whom I was fortunate to have adopt me into their circle – Cyndi Finkle, Noreen Flynn, Chris Morgan, Saralyn “Chicken Legs” Dixon and Carissa Bongiorno. That’s forty plus years of friendship! And I still mourn my original right arm at the Daily Review, Hub Brando, one of the all-time great human beings, philosophers and humorists.”
For those unaware, Brando is the father of sports play-by-play great Tim Brando of Fox Sports and CBS before that.
In time, Miereanu segued into being Vice President of Communications for the Dodgers under owner Frank McCourt in 2004 and 2005.
“Now THAT is a long, fascinating story – too long for one paragraph. Or two. Or a book. It was interesting, exciting, educational and exhausting. And there were all the incredible personalities – many of whom are absolute legends. It’s simultaneously humbling and incredibly entertaining to be with Vin Scully and Tommy Lasorda every single day, not to mention a colorful, talented brigade of players,” he recalled. “On the business side, I went from Disney, a huge company with thousands of employees and umpteen layers of administration and approvals, to the Dodgers, which was far more condensed in terms of population and execution. Things move much quicker in Major League Baseball, which can be exhilarating and liberating. You can conjure an idea, refine that idea, get that idea approved and then implement that idea within just a few days, whereas it might take six to 12 months to cover the same gamut at Disney. And there were so many changes that needed to be identified, conceived and implemented at the Dodgers – the franchise was being run into the ground by Fox, things needed to be turned around quickly. So, there was never a dull moment. I basically worked 20 hours a day, nearly every day of the year, and my incredible staff was right there stride for stride. But don’t get me wrong – it’s a lot of fun working in baseball. Because, you know, it’s baseball!”
Whether writing a feature or game story or penning publicity, Miereanu, who worked at Centinela Hospital Medical Center from 1988 through 1991 and Saint John’s Hospital & Health Center from 1991 through 1995 in their publicity department, can do either with equal aplomb.
“Both have their highs and lows. I’m a storyteller at heart, so both occupations appeal to my nature. Sportswriting and photography gave me the opportunity to meet and tell the world about fascinating, inspiring individuals who were achieving in their respective sports,” he acknowledged. “Publicity gives me the opportunity to work closely with, and shine a bright light upon, some of the most creative, talented people on the planet. Both careers have given me such joy and satisfaction in being able to herald deserving individuals and groups. Publicity is a bit of an odd job – but it can be a tool to help others see validity in their own work. Unfortunately, both fields have changed dramatically over the past four decades.”
In today’s world and market, outside forces are at play and have been for some time.
“The Internet and social media have, quite sadly, been putting most of the journalism industry to death. It’s depressing because a large percent of the population of this planet – and especially this country – now tend to accept as fact whatever they read online, and so often that information is tainted and unchecked,” Miereanu said. “Newspapers and magazines had fact-checkers to ensure there were no untruths sneaking into the news. These days, there’s such a rush to post news that truth is a secondary consideration.”
Miereanu added: “And when truth isn’t a priority, disaster will follow. So yes, I’m considering a third career,” he pointed out. “I just don’t think the Los Angeles Philharmonic is going to consider me in their search to replace Gustavo Dudamel.”
Having spent time at Warner Bros. was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and thrill.
“How much fun can one person have? For starters, working in animation is a pleasure, and Warner Bros. offered some special fun in getting to dance with both Looney Tunes characters and DC’s illustrious stable of superheroes. Who complains about working with Batman? I’m quite proud to note that I’m the only publicist in history to have repped both Warner Bros. & Disney’s classic characters,” Miereanu said. “Beyond that honor, I’ve had an unthinkably fun run doing events like … helping take the Batmobiles on tour to NFL stadiums (plus the Alabama-LSU game in Baton Rouge) for an eight-week jaunt, including driving in the classic Adam West version (and then doing a similar run the following year with Superman costumes); working and playing alongside my actual boyhood idol Adam West for several years; dancing with the incredible cast and creators of Veronica Mars on a media tour and movie launch; filming the film Thunderstruck with Kevin Durant and then running around the country on the promotional tour; being embedded as a photographer within Matt Brabham’s Warner Bros.-sponsored racing team for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500; spending a month in Louisiana filming a movie with soccer superstar Alex Morgan; doing a lengthy promo tour with the legendary rock group KISS that ended with a Hall H [which seats 6,500 and is reserved for the most popular acts] panel at Comic-Con; and so many more great adventures. Plus, just getting the opportunity to work closely with the voice acting community is one of the true highlights of my life. There have been difficult times, too – that’s the nature of corporate America. Some people say they do a lot of hard work. I like to say I’ve been doing “Hard Fun.”
For Miereanu, it’s always about news and more news.
“News? Every day there’s news! Beyond project work at those bastions of Burbank – Warner Bros. and Disney – I’ve been working on a number of projects for individuals and companies around the globe,” he said. “I’m the publicist for Jay Oliva’s incredible Lex+Otis Studios; spent the past four years developing all the behind-the-scenes materials and publicity announcements for Mofac Animation’s upcoming The King of Kings (starring the likes of Kenneth Branagh and Oscar Isaac); repping film/television musical score superstar Bear McCreary at both Comic-Con and New York Comic Con; getting the word out on cool collectible card games like the resurrection of the great 1990s game OverPower; and answering the call of several top studios and producers, none of which I’m allowed to talk about just yet. And I’m writing a book … but more on that later.”
That’s Miereanu, always busy and always on the go.
