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About The Host
Good Morning Pittsfield!
with John Krol
Berkshire County's most informative radio hour...
Weekdays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
89.7 FM, and Channel 17 in Pittsfield,
Richmond and Dalton. |
Since creating Good Morning Pittsfield in November 2006, John Krol has interviewed hundreds of guests focusing on a wide variety of issues in the community, along with musical performers and other special segments on financial planning, education, cooking and Berkshire nightlife. Born and raised in Pittsfield, Krol is an active member of his community, as the chairman of the City's Green Commission, a member of the School Building Needs Commission, a board member of the Gladys Allen Brigham Center, and for Pittsfield Community Television. He works as Media Relations Manager of Berkshire Healthcare Systems, Inc. and also hosts Berkshire Healthcare's "InfoSource" television program highlighting important health issues in the Berkshires. A graduate of Pittsfield High School, he attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2000 with a BA in psychology. After college, Krol became a journalist, first as a reporter at the North Adams Transcript, then to radio with Berkshire Broadcasting Company (and later Vox Communications) in North Adams, as the morning anchor and host of the Opinion program on WNAW-AM/WMNB-FM. He worked for the North Adams station for three years before moving on to serve as the Berkshire Bureau Chief for WAMC-Northeast Public Radio. Beginning 2005, Krol served as Public Affairs Coordinator for the City of Pittsfield, where he was active in the continuing revitalization of Pittsfield, specifically marketing the City through special events, including Stephanie Wilson Day, the promotion of Pittsfield’s new cultural attractions, such as the Colonial Theatre and Barrington Stage Company, and the re-launching of the City’s Website Pittsfield.com to better serve residents, visitors and business people. He lives in Pittsfield with his wife, Allison Johnson Krol.
About WTBR
 Good Morning Pittsfield!
with John Krol
Berkshire County's most informative radio hour...
Weekdays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
89.7 FM, and Channel 17 in Pittsfield,
Richmond and Dalton. |
WTBR-89.7 FM is a public radio station owned by the City of Pittsfield’s School Committee, transmitting from Taconic High School on Valentine Road in the western side of the city. Over the past four decades, the station has helped jump-start the budding careers of many future radio professionals in the Berkshires and beyond. In particular, in the 1970s under the leadership of station director, Bob Cooper, the station flourished with a wide range of student programming and an organization that continued to build the impressive archive of vinyl records. With more than an estimated 10,000 records from the late 1960s into the 1980s, WTBR is truly a priceless gem. Over the years, the station continued to serve as a significant outlet for the school and community. Of note, NASA astronaut, Stephanie D. Wilson, was a member of the radio club and she hosted her own program on WTBR. A 1984 graduate of Taconic High School, Wilson would go on to become the second African-American woman in space, taking part in two successful NASA Discovery missions in 2006 and in 2007.
However, in the several years prior to 2006, the station had again become devoid of programming as student turnover had left WTBR with dead-air for a vast majority of the time. But, in 2006, a group of radio veterans, led by longtime WUPE-FM News Director Larry Kratka, lit a new spark for the station. Kratka brought in several radio veterans, such as Joe Mindlin and Brad Lorenz, both were DJs for WUPE-FM; Chuck Wright, who has nearly two decades of broadcast experience in radio and community television; and John Krol, who is the former morning news anchor and Opinion show host for WNAW/WMNB-North Adams and Berkshire Bureau Chief for WAMC-Northeast Public Radio. Kratka has also been active in upgrading the technology at the station, including new equipment, upgrading to stereo, and allowing WTBR to transmit its full power allowed by FCC license. In addition, many students from Taconic and Pittsfield High School have created new programs with a mix of eclectic music and talk, including Alex Conklin with sports talk and Sean Mochon (a.k.a. DJ Wheels), who in spite of his physical limitations, has created a popular heavy metal show with the help of special equipment outfitted with the help of UCP. The station continues to move forward with more upgrades, including computer technology to allow more hours of local, original programming for the Pittsfield and greater Berkshire community.
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Good Morning Pittsfield
The Best In The
TALK Berkshires
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