Carrie Saldo
SPRINGFIELD — WGBY’s local current affairs show, Connecting Point, has a new host — who also happens to be a past one.
Beginning with the forthcoming Season 8, Carrie Saldo, an award-winning journalist with nearly a decade of public media experience, will return to public television to present timely stories from western New England on the PBS station’s flagship news and current affairs program.
Saldo served as WGBY’s Connecting Point host from 2010 to 2013, presenting most of the shows eight-minute segments and co-producing the half-hour program at large. During her tenure, Saldo conducted hundreds of in-studio interviews, traveled to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, and hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail in a special in-the-field series.
Saldo’s return to the local PBS station comes on the heels of Jim Madigan’s retirement. Madigan, who headed up WGBY’s public affairs efforts for nearly 30 years, is himself a well-respected and award-winning journalist.
WGBY Deputy General Manager Lynn Page says Carrie Saldo was an obvious choice for the job.
“Carrie Saldo is the perfect addition to our team,” Page says. “She worked closely with Jim Madigan in the past and knows the region and its leadership very well. Carrie cares deeply for western New England. She understands the people, traditions, and cultures. She will continue Jim’s legacy as well as the mission of WGBY to connect the people of our region.”
WGBY General Manager Anthony V. Hayes echoes Page’s confidence, saying Saldo will advance the station’s commitment to reliable local news and current affairs coverage.
“Public media is a trusted source for information,” Hayes says. “It’s extremely important that our current affairs team lives up to the PBS reputation and provides western New England with the content it expects from us. I have full confidence that Carrie Saldo will produce and deliver that quality local content to viewers.”
For Saldo’s part, the return to local public media is a welcome one.
“I am honored to dive in and uncover the stories that need to be told in this region,”Saldo says. “Excellent journalism is the result of carefully listening. I’m here. Share your thoughts, ideas, comments and concerns. Let’s shed light on the issues that matter most to you and work toward strengthening this area that we call home.”
Prior to her three years (2010–2013) as a Connecting Point host, Carrie Saldo spent three years as WAMC Public Media’s Berkshire Bureau Chief. In 2013, she moved from New England to join Rocky Mountain Public Media as a reporter, anchor, writer, producer, and executive producer. In 2016, she returned to Massachusetts in a multimedia reporting role for the Berkshire Eagle.
Saldo’s work in journalism has garnered awards from the Heartland Emmy Chapter, Colorado Broadcasters Association, Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press, and others.
