Here’s The Really Short Story:

Who: I’m Pete Kaliner. I’ve spent more than two decades as a radio reporter and talk show host in Charlotte and Asheville.

What: A one-hour daily free podcast to discuss news & topics from a North Carolina perspective.

Where: I’m based in Asheville, NC.

When: On demand, whenever you want to listen. But I will do a show every weekday.

Why: I believe the government closest to the people is the most responsive, but we need to have access to the information about what our government is doing.

The Little Bit Longer Short Story

Are you still reading all of this?!

OK. Well, I’ve been working in the news business in North Carolina for more than two decades. I’ve done some TV and print work, but virtually all of my experience is in radio.

I love the spoken word format.

Ever since I was a kid, listening to public radio with my dad in New York, I’ve been hooked on the way talk radio connects with people. I kept getting laid off by corporate radio owners, even though I was doing everything they wanted me to do. So, I decided to go into business for myself.

 

The Long Story

Seriously?! You’re still reading this?!

Well, I’ve been doing journalism and broadcast communication for most of my life. From my high school newspaper, to the college paper, to helping start up the campus radio station, to mailing people coffee mugs at an NPR affiliate – I’ve been immersed in the journalism and news industry for thirty years.

I worked for about half of my career as a radio reporter in Charlotte, NC. I covered the City, County, State, and Education beats – as well as General Assignment. This meant covering a lot of politics and sitting through more government meetings (with PowerPoint slideshows!) than I can count.

But it was invaluable experience. During this time, Charlotte and North Carolina experienced explosive growth. This gave me a front row seat to some of the most powerful and important stories that affect people at the local level.

I transitioned from reporter to host – which allowed me to explore topics in far greater depth while talking directly with the audience. After three years, the station was sold and the new owners laid off a bunch of people – including me.

After a brief stint in TV news, I got a job in Asheville, NC as afternoon host on WWNC. I got to learn more about the job, while informing local citizens about what their governments were doing – like all of the embezzling.

It was a successful show, but the corporate owners decided to eliminate hundreds of positions across the nation – including mine.

During my job search it became very clear to me that if I were going to create the content that I know the audience has supported, I’m just going to have to do it myself.

So, that’s what I’m doing. I’m going to work for myself and – more importantly – work directly for the audience that had been calling for me to do a podcast.

 

I should’ve listened to y’all earlier!

So, that’s how I got here. Thanks for reading up to this point. And thanks for subscribing and supporting the show!