MetroNews Talkline

MetroNews Talkline is a West Virginia news talk program that treats the state's politics and the national headlines as one running conversation. It comes from the studios of WVRC Media and the Metro News Radio and Television Network. Without much modesty, it bills itself as the voice of West Virginia and the most powerful show in the state. Dave Wilson sits in Morgantown. TJ Meadows is in Charleston. The scripted open is a short string of control-room calls that hands network control between the two cities and then cues the pair to start. Behind them, Ethan Collins works as audio producer and keeps radio affiliates across the state connected. Jake Link handles the video stream on the Metro News TV app, Facebook Live and YouTube. One cold open promises local politics, national politics and foreign policy in a single sitting, and the guest lists back that up. The U.S. Senate race appears from both sides, with Republican Brian McKinney, who is seeking the GOP nomination, and Democrats Jeff Kessler and Rio Phillips on recent lineups. State groups get time as well. Steve Roberts of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the State School Board were both booked, and Jason Pizzatella of the Contractors Association was scheduled to talk about a proposed gas tax holiday. For national news the show leans on outside voices. Jared Halpern checked in from the White House on President Trump's Iran deadline, Washington Times columnist Mike McKenna was booked, and Jonathan Savage was lined up with the latest on what the show called 'the Trump Holy War.' Closer to home, Mike Nolting of WAJR News was set to give an update on an ongoing murder trial. The West Virginia Lottery was even booked for an in-studio visit. The listener lines matter as much as the guests. There is a call-in number, 800-765-TALK, and a text line, 304-TALK-304, and texts are read aloud on air. Some are there for the laugh, like the texter who said Mr. Rogers did not adequately prepare them for their neighborhood. Others push hard. After a presidential Truth Social meme, the texts read on air called it blasphemy and feared America had reached an all-time low. The studio's responses differed in a telling way, from saying there is a line you do not cross to asking why anyone is still surprised. The show also admits that some texts simply cannot be read on air. It promises to connect the political dots, and the format does much of that work by putting candidates, business groups, correspondents and angry texters on the same air. It is a crowded, lively place to hear what West Virginia is arguing about, in the words of people from the state.