Wayne Perkey, a long-time media institution in Louisville, has a new television show that begins airing next week.
Perkey, long-time morning show host at WHAS Radio and a pitchman for plenty of local businesses, told me that the new project allows him to interview interesting people he’s met. There will be 3 interviews in each half-hour show, leading off with sculptor Ed Hamilton. The first show also has Baptist HealthCare president Sue Tamme and Dr. Joe Fowler, a dermatologist who owns a farm and puts together Horse syndicates.
The show premiers Monday at 10 p.m. on WKYI-TV. That’s the rejuvenated station in southern Indiana operated by the owners of Indiana 9.
WKYI is way down at 138 on the Insight lineup, channel 24 over-the-air and on U-Verse. Perkey’s People airs there six times a week, once daily except Saturday. It will also air five times a week on Indiana 9. Perkey said all the interviews take place on location at the subject’s place of choice.
But Perkey’s show isn’t the only big change over there. Craig Hoffman, who until last month was station manager and the on-air host of the Louisville Live Morning Show, is the new station manager for both WKYI-TV and Indiana 9. N.A. Broadcasting Co., which also owns two radio stations, announced the hiring of Hoffman Jan. 5.
He abruptly left the CW station in Louisville last month, leaving a resignation letter behind. He’s been replaced as on-air host there by Tara Bassett.
Over the weekend, a new weekly show featuring four African-American women debuted there. It features another former Louisville Live personality, Julie Smith, and WHAS-TV reporter Adrianna Hopkins. I was a few minutes of it, featuring an on-site interview at the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage.
While it’s great to see this station making an effort to focus on local programming, it’s really going to be difficult for any show at 138 in the Insight lineup to find an audience.
