By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed August 5, 2011
On a rock station in Lexington, Ky., she was called Kitten. At G105 in Raleigh, N.C., she was known as Kentucky Kristin.
Starting Monday August 8 on Q100's The Bert Show, she is using her real name Kristin Klingshirn. Cutesy radio nicknames are off the table. That's not this morning show's style.
Klingshirn fills a spot left by Melissa Carter, who departed Atlanta's No. 2 morning radio show in April on her own accord to explore new climes.
Bert Weiss, who listened to more than 200 tapes before picking Klingshirn, assiduously avoids calling her a "replacement." In his mind, there is no replacing Carter's unique position on the show as a calm, rational counterpoint to the other four.
“There were very few women I talked to the last couple of months who had a thick enough skin to take the spot of Melissa Carter,” Weiss said on the air last month when the announcement was made.”I think she does.”
How will Klingshirn fit in? It's too soon to tell. Chemistry is a delicate balance. Weiss hired her because he liked her and thought she was "fearless."
"We clicked instantly," Klingshirn said in an interview August 3 at Lenox Square Mall. "It was right. It was a good fit."
A Lexington native and University of Kentucky graduate, she started in radio promotions. Lexington rock station WKQQ-FM gave her time on the air to develop her craft. She moved to Raleigh in 2006.
"She has that Kentucky spirit," said "Dead Air" Dennis Dillon, who worked with her at WKQQ. "She doesn't balk at a whole lot. She loves sports. She likes to drink beer. She's an outdoorsy girl. She'll bring fire and honesty."
At the same time, Klingshirn loves every "Real Housewives" franchise. And she's a shoe addict, owning more than 100 pairs. During her move to Atlanta, she pared it down - a little. "Certain shoes I get attached to," she said. "How can I get rid of that pair from spring break 1998?"
While in Raleigh on Bob & the Showgram, Klingshirn participated in all sorts of shenanigans the Bert Show generally eschews. "I've been attacked by dogs. I've been tackled by rugby players. A snake gave me a back massage," she said. "I ate a spoonful of cinnamon. That landed me in the emergency room."
As a teaser, Klingshirn sat in with the show for brief segments last week.
On Thursday, she opened up about her relationship with her boyfriend of five years, Bart Mattingly. Mattingly, she said, was in real estate and when the economy cratered, fell into massive debt. While he pays that off, she's paying most of the bills.
She defended herself without getting defensive, which is how the Bert Show works: “It’s like a marriage. It works for us. I’m happy.”
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