Personality Bios

David C. Barnett started off behind the microphone at an early age. In the mid-1950s, his dad bought the first reel-to-reel recorder in their Chicago neighborhood. David C. fondly recalls being “interviewed” by his own father about the pressing issues of the day (as perceived by a two year old). In 1963 the Barnetts moved to Cleveland and DCB promptly fell under the spell of Ghoulardi, staying up late on Friday nights and turning blue. At the same time, David was becoming entranced by the possibilities of his Dad’s tape recorder. He started producing his own DJ shows and adventure stories. He also started experimenting with editing, doing such things as rearranging one of President Johnson’s State of the Union speeches. With such a firm grounding in media production, it was only natural that David enroll at Cleveland State University as a Communication major. At the urging of Cleveland radio legend and mentor Bill Randle, DCB followed-up his B.A. with a couple of Master’s degrees from Kent State University, where he first became acquainted with Public Radio. He came to WCPN in 1990 with an arm-full of taped interviews and an idea about producing a story about the 1970 Kent State shootings. The compelling program “Emily’s Diary” was the result, assembled by producers Kathleen Cerveny and Jim Goldurs. David has subsequently produced many award-winning programs and is a semi-regular contributor to National Public Radio news magazines. His documentary productions about American musical pioneers Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams (both engineered by 90.3’s Al Dahlhausen) have been nationally syndicated by Public Radio International.

Every Friday Regina Brett is the host for WCPN’s public affairs call-in program, the Sound of Ideas. She has loved listening to radio ever since she got her first transistor. Regina joined WCPN in 2006. Regina is also a metro columnist at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. Her columns appear on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday and can be found here. She became a journalist in 1986, covering city hall for the Lorain Journal. She then worked for the Beacon Journal in Akron.  She began writing columns in 1994 and joined The Plain Dealer as a columnist in 2000. Regina finds ideas everywhere. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998, she wrote candidly about her experience and won a National Headliner Award.  She was a Pulitzer finalist in commentary in 2008 for columns on urban violence. She was awarded the Batten Medal by Knight-Ridder “for lifetime achievement” and has received numerous writing awards from the Cleveland Press Club, Society for Professional Journalists and the Ohio Associated Press. Regina grew up in Ravenna and never left Northeast Ohio. She loves the people, the weather and that beautiful ocean of a lake. She can’t imagine living anywhere else. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in religious studies from John Carroll University. Regina and her husband have a daughter and two sons. When she isn’t writing, which is rare, she’s enjoying her second favorite hobby, reading.

Paul Cox is the producer of the morning news programs on 90.3 and he doubles as associate producer of the Feagler and Friends weekly program on WVIZ/PBS. Paul will soon mark 30 years in the broadcast industry, most of that as a working journalist, editor and news manager. Immediately prior to arriving at WCPN, Paul was a reporter and public affairs host at Cleveland television stations WOIO and WUAB. A Detroit-area native, he’s worked his entire professional career in Ohio in just about every function radio and TV have to offer. Duties have included news reporter, play-by-play sportscaster, drama critic and storm-chaser. If he can stand the excitement, he hopes to make WCPN/WVIZ a permanent home. Oh, and like Jim Traficant, he’s the son of a truck driver. Unlike Jim Traficant, he doesn’t have to be available for lock-down every night.

Dick Feagler is a featured columnist for The Plain Dealer and host of the weekly interview program Feagler & Friends on WVIZ/PBS. A native of Cleveland, he graduated from John Adams High School and Ohio University. Following service in the Army and a stint with the Sandusky Register, he signed on with the Cleveland Press in 1963 as a general assignment reporter. His feature column ran in the Press from 1970 until the paper’s demise in 1982. Throughout the 1980s, Feagler’s columns ran in many northern Ohio newspapers, including the Akron Beacon Journal, the Lake County News-Herald, the Lorain Journal, the Painesville Telegraph, and the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. In 1993, Feagler signed on with The Plain Dealer, where his columns continue to appear. Dick Feagler’s other media roles have included news commentaries for WKYC-TV3 and WEWS-TV5. He served as a senior editor for Cleveland Magazine and contributing editor for Corporate Cleveland. He has appeared on NBC’s Today and Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow, and many of his commentaries have aired on National Public Radio. Earlier columns have been collected in three previous books: Feagler’s Cleveland; Did you read Feagler today?; and I Know I’m Not Supposed to Say This… But I’ll Say It Anyway.

Jim Goldurs is a true 90.3 WCPN® veteran. Having served through 90.3 WCPN®’s tough times (refer to Kit Jensen’s bio for further explanation), Jim has seen the station’s birth through its current teenage growth spurt. And, he was one of the station’s first members, to boot! Born and raised in Cleveland, Jim graduated from Shaker Heights High School. He went on to receive degrees in Communications from Youngstown State University and the University of Pittsburgh. Jim has worked in radio throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania for close to thirty years. Currently, Jim is 90.3’s director of creative projects (fancy, huh?), and sometimes serves as substitute host for Around Noon. When he’s not being creative here at 90.3 WCPN®, Jim can be found practicing the art of the rub - massotherapy - in which he’s held a license for since 1990. Married, with three children, a dog and cat, Jim lives in Cleveland Heights.

If it swings, Bobby Jackson probably has it in his collection. As ideastream’s Music Director, Bobby is a veritable allmusic.com unto himself, watching over a station CD collection of well over 10,000 and a personal CD/vinyl collection that may well reach 20,000 discs. As part of the ideastream Culture Team, Bobby can be found on APPLAUSE, the WVIZ/PBS weekly arts and culture program and on AROUND NOON, the 90.3 WCPN daily arts and culture program as well and EVENING JAZZ, with special reports and features of local arts luminaries. Bobby brings two decades of public radio experience to his work at ideastream and has racked up quite a few awards along the way. He was awarded the opportunity to attend 1994 NPR’s Multi-Cultural Producer’s Forum. He has thrice received the National GAVIN Award for Jazz Radio Person of The Year. His radio magazine JAZZ TRACKS received OET awards in 1997 for Program of the Year and Best Cultural Arts Weekly Series. He was the recipient of the 1998 Communicators Awards Crystal Award of Excellence. In 2000, he served as guest host for the nationally syndicated broadcast of WEMU/WDET’s Detroit Jazz Festival. In 2001 he was a finalist for the Northern Ohio Live Award of Achievement. When he’s not out picking up awards Bobby can be found relaxing with a good book, riding his bike, swimming, or playing Scrabble (a little FYI - were it a word, 90.3 WCPN would count for 11 points).

Rick Jackson says his current position at ideastream finally combines everything from his 26 years in journalism, into one job. Hosting the weekly, live, public affairs program Ideas brings together all the elements of his service in public and commercial radio, in local and network television, and in hosting the nationally syndicated public affairs series Village America, which was seen on PBS during 2002. Long familiar to Cleveland viewers from his stints as a news anchor for WOIO and WUAB TV, and from being a news reporter at WKYC TV back in the mid-eighties, Jackson returned to Cleveland following 5 years in New York City, where he served as the weeknight anchor of the CBS News broadcast, Up to the Minute, a four-hour long, live, overnight news program, seen in 48 states, and in more than 50 foreign nations. Returning to his adopted home in the late 90’s, the award winning Jackson was again honored, as a 2001 inductee into Ohio’s Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Returning to radio at WCPN in 2003, his was the first voice many Clevelanders heard each morning, as the local host of NPR’s Morning Edition – before his move from the audio side of ideastream; to its video partner, WVIZ. What’s his favorite story to cover thus far? Piloting an F-16 through a series of aerobatics over Lake Erie, during the 2000 visit of the USAF Thunderbirds to the Cleveland Air Show. But back on the ground, he says what he likes most about journalism, is what he likes most about Cleveland. “It’s the people.”

Kristina Kuprevicius has been producing the weekly Lithuanian program on WCPN since 1986. Since 1996, Kristina has been with Judson Retirement Community as Vice President of Marketing. Prior to Judson, she was involved with Special Events for the City of Cleveland, May Department Stores and as a consultant, working on such projects as the opening of the Gund Arena and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kristina graduated with a Master of Arts degree in piano and harpsichord from Cleveland State University. She taught at The Cleveland Music School Settlement, Regina High School and had numerous private students throughout the east side.

“You get a different perspective when you know how this stuff works!” Slovak Hour host Vladimir Mlynek not only understands what goes on in front of the microphone, but he even knows what’s happening inside the microphone. Both Vladimir and his co-host (and son) Gerald are certified electrical engineers who mix their technical expertise with a love of their heritage to bring listeners a weekly sampling of the Slovak culture. Vladimir has been involved in nationality broadcasting since the late 1940s, and is one of the original nationality broadcasters to sign-on with 90.3 when the station was born in 1984. One year later, Gerald was recruited to add an English-speaking voice to the program. It was an important move for 2nd and 3rd generation Slovak-American listeners whose primary language is English. The longevity and popularity of the Slovak Radio Hour can be traced to the devotion of the hosts and the great strength of the Slovak-American community throughout Northeast Ohio.

David Molpus joined WVIZ/WCPN as Executive Editor in March of 2006 after a long career at NPR. “I’m one of the luckiest journalists around having gotten to spend most of my career at NPR during its infancy and part of its prime,” Molpus says. “It gave me opportunities I never dreamed of growing up in a small town in the Mississippi Delta.” Among the memorable assignments Molpus points to his covering the opening of the Watergate trial in 1974, being on the campaign trail with Jimmy Carter in 1976, reporting from Greenland on the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense base there in the early 80’s, accompanying the 10th Mtn. Division into Haiti in 1994, and covering the Pentagon after 9-11. Plus, from time to time, he got to break out of the news mold in interviews with the likes of Wayne Newton, Loretta Lynn, bluesman Junior Kimbrough, Eudora Welty and Willie Morris. He picked up many honors along the way, including an Overseas Press Club award for spot news coverage, the “Outstanding Journalist” award from the Conference Board of New York for coverage of the American workplace and a Neiman Fellowship at Harvard, but Molpus says his proudest accomplishment came outside of journalism when he was still in college at the University of Mississippi. There he sued the university for its notorious “speaker ban” that kept minorities and white liberals from being guest speakers on campus. In 1970, in response to the lawsuit, the federal courts ordered an end to all “speaker bans” at all of Mississippi’s public colleges and universities. Today he is Executive Editor for WVIZ/PBS & 90.3 WCPN and oversees all locally produced content. “This is a vibrant and ambitious organization,” Molpus says of his new workplace, “working across platforms in a multi-media environment keeps us all on our toes.” He says ideastream is also creatively raising the bar for public broadcasting’s role in service to the community. Molpus, his wife Molly and their dog Willie, enjoy their cozy neighborhood in Shaker Heights and plan on making Ohio home for a long time.

Dan Moulthrop is the founding host of The Sound of Ideas®, which airs weekday mornings at nine. He joined ideastream in 2005 as WCPN’s local anchor of Morning Edition. Prior to joining ideastream, Dan lived in the San Francisco Bay area where worked on print, television and video projects, including co-authoring Teachers Have it Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America’s Teachers (with Ninive Calegari and Dave Eggers; The New Press, 2005). He holds a master’s in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. Before turning to journalism, he taught English at San Lorenzo High School and a variety of subjects at the San Francisco County Jail. Dan’s work has received important recognition; recently, The Ohio Society of Professional Journalists awarded The Sound of Ideas Best in Show for Public Affairs Programs (2007). Dan was also named “Best Local News Refresher” by Cleveland’s Scene Magazine (2007). And though some question his decision to move to Cleveland from the Golden State, he’s found he’s quite happy living on the East side with his wife and two children.

After broadcasting a similar show in the 1960s, Joe Nicholls from Merseyside, England was itching to get back in front of the microphone when he heard about WCPN-FM going on the air in September 1984. Joined by other nationality broadcasters, The Sounds of Britain and Ireland began broadcasting one week after the station debuted. The uniqueness of this program is that unlike the most other shows that are about only one nation, Sounds of Britain and Ireland covers five countries - England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. In 1990, Joe felt something was missing. After recounting how he enjoyed having guests on the show, he decided to add another host. After careful consideration of past visitors, Kevin McGinty of County Mayo, Ireland was added to the roster. It didn’t hurt that Kevin had been a director and actor of the Cleveland Irish Players for some time and has a vast knowledge of the entertainment world. An added feature is a sports report E-mailed just prior to show from Tom Rizzo of Akron. Tom, who has never met either Joe or Kevin, is not only the regular sports reporter but also a big fan of the show. It’s a hectic two hours, but they love it. As Kevin often remarks “where did the time go?” Away from the station, Joe is a retired newspaper-marketing representative with many interests and Kevin manages a painting contracting company. Although good friends, their socializing with each other is very limited. Due in large part to distance and family life and as Kevin says “It keeps a fresh approach when we do the program”. This does not stop them talking on the phone frequently about new ideas for the show because as Joe says “The show must keep renewing itself”.

Dee Perry has been a part of the Cleveland broadcasting scene since 1976, having started her career at WABQ-AM, as a jazz host. Dee was born and raised in Cleveland, and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School and Cleveland State University. She has also lived and worked in New York City and Atlanta, and says that Cleveland is still her favorite place. Dee’s hobbies and interests include photography , motivational speaking, singing, and acting. She has appeared in several productions at Playhouse Square theaters, as well as Tri-C, CSU, Karamu, and Ensemble Theater. 90.3 WCPN has been Dee Perry’s radio home since 1989, and she has performed in several different capacities for this public radio station. She is currently the host and producer of 90.3’s hour-long daily magazine talk show, Around Noon, which focuses on visual and performing arts, cultural trends, and current events. Dee also serves as host and producer for Applause, WVIZ/PBS’ half-hour weekly television series which is also devoted to arts and culture.

Since 1987 Dan Polletta has been spending his evenings with Northeast Ohio jazz lovers bringing them the best of this great American art form Monday through Thursday from 9PM to 1AM on 90.3. When Dan isn’t playing the music, he’s writing about it: be it reviews or recording notes for albums. Along with recording engineer Al Dahlhausen, he has also recorded and produced local jazz concerts that have been broadcast on public radio stations across the country, including performances by Cyrus Chestnut, Mingus Big Band, and Abbey Lincoln. He’s also a voracious reader—of anything, from cereal boxes to contemporary American political history (Whew!). Dan spends quite a bit of time in the kitchen whipping up new epicurean delights with an occasional trip to the wine rack for further inspiration. Outside of radio, Dan’s greatest accomplishment was coaching his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship from his seat in C-Deck of Ohio Stadium.

Musical interests led Bill Rice into radio during the early 80s. While in college at the University of New Haven he spent most of his time at the student run station, acting as Station Manager, Jazz Director and Jazz Jock, Bottle Washer and Hall Monitor. Perplexed at being finally ejected - after all, he had graduated, they told him - Bill moved to Baltimore, where he landed his first real radio job at a little AM outfit. A short time later Bill went to work recording chamber concerts for broadcast at WBJC-FM, the NPR station in Baltimore. He’s been a public radio die-hard ever since. He moved to New Hampshire in 1988, wearing a multitude of hats at New Hampshire Public Radio. Finally his fascination with all things newsworthy propelled him into journalism in 1993, and he’s never looked back. He served as News Director at two smaller radio stations in Indiana before succumbing to the lure of Cleveland in June, 2000, joining 90.3 on the education beat. Sources say he may stay awhile - he was appointed Assistant News Director at ideastream in 2004, loves Cleveland, and is quite happy living in his adopted home-town of Lakewood. Bill has won numerous awards during his career, including for his reporting on the demise of LTV Steel, Cleveland public school governance, and the growing gender gap in higher education. On the side he is a guitar enthusiast, with a background in folk, jazz and blues playing.

Petro Tvardovsky graduated from Chernihiv State University in Ukraine in 1958, majoring in History. He was an educator in his home country for forty years before moving to the United States with his wife Vira in 1994. After settling in Parma, he worked as a teacher for three years and then as principal for four years at the School of Ukrainian Studies. Since 1997, he has hosted the Ukraina program on 90.3/WCPN and he’s also an editor of the Ukrainian newspaper Visty UZO - both under the auspices of the Ukrainian United Organizations of Ohio, UZO. Oksana Rabosyuk is the daughter of Petro Tvardovsky. She graduated from the Kiev Institute of Foreign Languages in 1996. She worked as a teacher of English for five years before moving to the U.S. with her husband and son. She graduated from nursing school in Cleveland and works as an operating room nurse at MetroHealth Medical Center. Since 1997, she’s worked with her father on the Ukraina radio program.

Eric Wellman is the regional host of Morning Edition on 90.3. His newscasts and interviews can be heard weekdays 6-9 a.m. Eric caught the public radio bug while he was still in high school. He landed a summer internship at NPR station WBUR in Boston where he worked in their newscast unit. He was hired the following summer as a producer on their syndicated news/magazine Here and Now. Eric was born in Cleveland Heights, but grew up a Red Sox fan on the east coast (he has since severed those ties and roots exclusively for the Tribe). He got his B.S. in Broadcast Journalism at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Eric’s work has appeared on the BBC in London, the CBC in Canada, and NPR. He even did a stint on a radio station in Strasbourg, France! Eric’s work has been recognized nationally by the Hearst Foundation, and regionally by the Radio-Television News Directors Association, The Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press, and the Ohio Association of Broadcasters.

Dr. Joe Wendel began his broadcasting career in 1961 on former ethnic radio station, WXEN as a sportscaster! He was the voice of the Cleveland Stokers, a professional soccer team that was brought over from England by some local investors. But, the Stokers only lasted a couple of years and Joe – an Austrian native – turned his radio focus to spreading the word about Greater Cleveland’s German-speaking citizens. Sports and radio aside, Joe has also boosted the German culture through his expertise on the “stomach Steinway” --- the accordion he sports as the leader of the Joe Wendel Orchestra. This ensemble regularly tours around the country, playing numerous local festivals, as well as such entertainment hot spots as Las Vegas and the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Music, whether it is on the radio or on the stage is a labor of love for Joe Wendel. In addition to being an entertainer, Joe has a long history as an educator, holding a doctorate in Educational Administration and School Law.