By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed July 21, 2011
Kristin Klingshirn, who goes by "Kentucky Kristin" on a top 40 station in Raleigh, N.C., will join the Q100 Bert Show August 8.
Bert Weiss, the host of the show, said not to characterize her as a "replacement" for Melissa Carter, the long-time member of the show who left on her own accord in April. (Carter, after 15 years at 99X and Q100, hasn't decided what she wants to do next but is enjoying her time off.)
"This is a new co-host of the Bert Show," Weiss said on the air. "I'm hoping you will keep your hearts and minds open. She's nothing like Melissa. If you are expecting a lesbian newscaster, you'll be disappointed."
"She likes boys and her kidneys work," added jokester Jeff Dauler, referencing Carter's kidney transplant eight years ago.
Klingshirn, who will be reading the news as Carter had, has worked with G105 in Raleigh for Bob & the Showgram the past five years. She made her announcement of her departure to Atlanta on the air at about 7:15 a.m.. Weiss subsequently broke the news to Atlanta listeners at 7:45 a.m. today.
"There were very few women I talked to the last couple of months who had a thick enough skin to take the, 'That's not Melissa Carter,' " Bert said. "I think she does."
Weiss said he has been sifting through resumes and audition tapes for the past few months, open to the possibility he would not hire anybody at all. But Klingshirn stood out.
"She's just fearless," Weiss said. "You need to be. [Her boss on the show Bob] exposes you in every way, shape or form. This will be a welcome relief for her."
"She's the only female on the show," Jenn Hobby noted. "She really has to hold her own."
"She's absolutely beautiful, totally gorgeous," Hobby added, "with a bit of a tomboy vibe."
Weiss said he hung out with her for eight hours in Charleston, S.C., part of the time with his family and he said everyone loved her. So she came to Atlanta and hung out with the rest of the team, including a stop at Johnny's Hideaway.
A caller who listens to Bob & the Showgram said she's funny. "She's good," he said.
Weiss's 10-year-old show is a powerhouse and has been consistently in the top 3 in key demographics in Atlanta for several years. Ratings did not appear to wane after Carter left in April. The show is now heard in Indianapolis and Nashville as well.
I'll update this later after I talk with some of the Bert Show cast members. I'll try to talk to Kristin as well, though that may merit a separate blog entry.
Listen to Kristin's farewell on G105 here.
"Change isn't easy and sometimes it's necessary," Klingshirn said to the G105 listeners. "I'm super excited about my new opportunity. It comes bittersweet. We built a family - a very dysfunctional one."
The Bert Show prides itself on being "real." Every cast member uses their real name. (No "Kentucky Kristin" nicknames here.).
Weiss, in an interview after the announcement, said he listened to more than 200 airchecks from candidates far and wide. He narrowed that down to 10, then four, then two. He flew two people into Atlanta to meet the team. The other person who almost made the cut, he said, was Jayde Donovan from Orlando, but he felt she was edging more towards TV. Indeed, Donovan recently relocated to Los Angeles to be a correspondent for "Access Hollywood."
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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog
