“4 Questions Journalist Spotlight” with WSB Radio’s Pete Combs

Each week, in partnership with Leff’s Atlanta Media (www.leffsatlantamedia.com), Atlanta Daybook presents our “Journalist Spotlight.” Atlanta public relations professional Mitch Leff of Leff & Associates offers a conversation with a journalist in the Atlanta market, asking them four questions that’ll help you learn more about local Atlanta media. What makes them tick? What’s new at their media outlet? What drives them?

Mitch operates Leff’s Atlanta Media (http://www.leffsatlantamedia.com) an online database with contact info for thousands of Atlanta-based journalists, and Mitch’s Media Match (www.mitchsmediamatch.com), a service that connects Atlanta journalists with local experts.

The Spotlight Shines on WSB Radio and ABC Radio Reporter Pete Combs!

Pete Combs is a reporter for WSB Radio in Atlanta. He started at WSB Radio in 2006 but took a three-year hiatus to work at KOMO Radio in sunny (not) Seattle before returning to WSB in 2018. Pete’s got decades in radio news, working at stations in Tulsa, Charlotte, Florida, and Washington.

When he returned to Atlanta last year, he told me that in addition to his WSB work he’d also be embedded with ABC Radio here in Atlanta. Turns out “embedded” isn’t nearly as racy as I thought. The deal is, he covers stories for the ABC Radio network out of Atlanta, around the region, and sometimes farther afield.

The Latest: Pete’s been fighting cancer the last few months. It’s been a tough battle, so I wanted to take this time to be thankful for his friendship. I know it’s a busy week, but take a second to drop an email (or better yet, a phone call) to Pete if you know him, or to someone else you haven’t talked with in a bit.

What kind of story or segment makes you proud?

In radio, I think we have to work harder to capture and keep someone’s attention, so I use words and sound to paint pictures. I’m most proud of stories that make someone say, “I felt like I was there. I could see it in my mind.” If I can do that, I’ve done my job. And I think I’m equally as proud of stories where people on both sides of an issue say, “You got it right.”

What’s new and different about what you’re doing?

That’s really three separate questions, because there’s so much going on with all three.

At WSB, things move much faster now. With an eye toward higher story count and much more concise reporting, a lot of the in-depth work I did before heading to Seattle three years ago [Editor’s Note: Combs worked for KOMO Radio in Seattle] just isn’t being done anymore. I mourn that—but I LOVE what I do at WSB. We are indeed fast-paced. The newscasts move at the speed of sound and are so richly packed with information. I think listeners are getting a remarkably wide range of stories, a bigger picture than ever before.

Reporting nationally for ABC gives me a chance to be on the front-lines of history on stories that are awe-inspiring and sometimes heartbreaking at the same time. Covering Hurricane Michael was like that, as was reporting on the Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting. WSB listeners get “our man at the front” on these stories. I feel like I’m representing Atlanta when I cover these stories, bringing home the facts most important to our hometown audience.

At the same time, I’m growing my podcast company, EARFUL. We have three podcasts in production now and hope to begin production on two more in the next few weeks. To me, that’s storytelling without the limitations that constrain radio news stories to just 30-seconds.

AIN’s Tales from the Flight Deck (www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/podcasts) is a podcasts about pilots who find themselves in life-threatening situations and live to tell the tale. How they survived and what they learned from these hair-raising tales makes for a powerful podcast that appeals to both pilots and non-pilots alike.

NBAA’s Flight-Plan (www.nbaa.org/flight-plan) is evolving into a series of discussions with aviation’s top newsmakers about issues that affect pilots, cabin crewmembers, maintainers, dispatchers and schedulers and the people who keep them working at airports around the world. To me, that’s exciting in a very different but no less substantial way. Our website is http://www.myearful.com.

What’s the best and worst thing about your job?

The best thing is telling a really good story. The worst thing is telling a story that breaks my heart. Talking to victims of hurricanes, talking to the friends and families of those killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, I often found myself on the verge of tears. That’s when a law officer taught me that if you press your tongue really hard against the roof of your mouth, you can keep yourself from crying.

What’s the coolest thing about you?

If you ask my son, he’ll quickly tell you there’s NOTHING cool about me.

You know what I consider cool about me? The people closest to me. WSB News Director Chris Camp and our legendary Program Director, Pete Spriggs, comprise a radio dream-team. I couldn’t ask for a better, more supportive environment.

Same goes for the two people most prominent in my “other life” producing podcasts at EARFUL. My wife, Karen, is both my life’s greatest romance and president of EARFUL, LLC. John Carne, whom I met in Mrs. Sorg’s 9th grade science class at Montgomery Village Jr. High School in Gaithersburg, MD, is the most ethical man I know. He’s EARFUL’s business manager. He’s a remarkable and much-appreciated influence in my life.

About You
Last Book Read: Tom Robbins’ Skinny Legs and All
Favorite Atlanta Restaurant: Thompson Brothers’ BBQ in Smyrna—home of the best barbecued bologna to be found outside Tulsa County, OK.
Favorite Guilty Pleasure: BBQ bologna. Seriously, it’s amazing. You’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t try it.
Local Getaway: Hidalgo’s Mexican Bar and Grill in West Cobb (across from The Avenues)
Favorite Non-Work Hobby: Traveling with my wife, Karen and our dog, Stellas
Twitter: @reporterpete, @myearful

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