Staff

News Department:

Rick Mattioni - WVTF News Director & Radio IQ Program Director

E-mail: Mattioni@vt.edu

Rick has worked in broadcasting for nearly 30 years. Since October of 1987, he has been leading WVTF's News Department.

Rick came to WVTF from WAER in Syracuse, New York where he served as director of news and information programming for the NPR station in a competitive three NPR station market.

Prior to public radio, Rick had several years of experience in commercial radio and television in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In the commercial spectrum Rick had jobs as anchor, reporter, producer, and news director. Rick also worked for the American Forces Radio and TV Service in Germany during his military service.

At WVTF, Rick oversees a staff of nearly a dozen full, part time, and contract reporters and producers. As news director he is responsible for 48 hours each week of news and public affairs programming on WVTF. For WVTF's other program stream, Rick oversees a 168 hour news/talk schedule as program director for Radio IQ, which offers BBC news and NPR talk in Charlottesville, Franklin County/Smith Mountain Lake, the New River Valley, and Roanoke.

During his tenure at WVTF, Rick has grown the station's news coverage both in terms of stories getting to air and in the quality of production and presentation. More emphasis has been placed on "issues reporting" and stories that not only inform listeners but engage them in a way that public radio does so well. Rick has increased the breadth of coverage by adding correspondents in several areas outside WVTF's base essentially turning a Roanoke station into a Central, Southside, and Southwestern Virginia news service heard by more than 150,000 listeners each week. Rick is also working on creating Virginia Public Radio which would be managed by WVTF but would distribute news and information programming statewide to other public stations.

Under Rick's leadership, WVTF has won local, state, and national recognition for news and public affairs programming, including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for breaking news coverage; the National Public Radio News Directors Association's top citation for local news coverage and feature reporting, and Clarion Award from Women in Communications for newscast excellence.

• Staff