MetroNews Hotline

MetroNews Hotline is West Virginia afternoon radio, presented by Salango Law and carried on Metro News, a network that calls itself the voice of West Virginia. Dave Weekley hosts it from the flagship station, 580 WCHS in Charleston. On air, the show bills itself as a three-hour tour through sports, news, entertainment and tech from a Mountain State point of view. The podcast feed keeps that shape, posting the broadcast in parts titled Hour 1, Hour 2 and Hour 3. The opening billboard repeats one rule. Hotline is a no-politics zone. With politics off the table, the time goes to scores, guests, gossip and games. Baseball comes in as live updates, like a Reds loss to the Giants, or a Pirates and Nationals game at PNC that goes to extra innings while the outcome is still in doubt. Football comes in through the NFL draft, with Dave Bryan of Steeler Depot booked for the top of the 4 o'clock hour on a Tuesday. Todd Wright comes on to talk about the Masters, and David Mayfield comes on to discuss the next Mountain Stage in Charleston. The house games give the three hours their shape. 'In or Out' asks for a verdict on a premise, such as a cruise ship wedding pitched as the cheap alternative, or a new CBS police drama called 'Flint' for Matt LeBlanc. The host and Matt both give their verdicts, with a joke about wedding guests stuck together on the same boat the morning after. 'Pick One' and an Entertainment Report have their own slots on the clock. A question of the day resets each hour, and one day it was about a new Jerry West documentary on Amazon Prime Video. 'Tickets Tuesday' gets the longest explanation. After 'In or Out', the phone lines open, and callers get on the air, choose from rotating categories and play for a prize. One day's choices were lefty-righty, Masters Aftermath and a Mystery category based on something already revealed on that day's show, which rewards anyone who has been following along. Texts go to a separate line that the opening billboard promotes. Local detail keeps turning up, from the afternoon temperature in the Kanawha Valley to a crazy day in the financial markets to the host's nod to people outside the state checking on sports back home. Because the feed carries the full radio program, commercial breaks and news briefs sit between the segments. What it offers is friendly afternoon company from Charleston, with regional sports at the center and politics kept out of the conversation.