CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The newest voice to join the West Virginia radio family and AJR News Network is a long-time local media mainstay and current Clarksburg City Councilman.
The AJR News Network will begin airing “The Gary Bowden Show” weekday mornings from 9:06 to 10 a.m., starting Monday, February 13.
“West Virginia Radio has been very accommodating and gracious,” Bowden said. “And I’m delighted to be a part of what we are doing.”
Bowden has lived in the Clarksburg area for more than 30 years. He spent time with local NBC-affiliate WBOY, including a tenure as the station’s General Manager. However, Bowden’s experience does not preclude time behind a microphone.
“When I moved here from Baltimore about a year and a half out college, I started in radio,” he said. “There was a station owned by WBOY, an AM station. That was actually my job when I moved here. I did a morning shift on radio and did everything from news, to spin records, to swap shop.”
Bowden, who remained in Clarksburg and raised a family following his move to Harrison County more than 30 years ago, said the plan is to focus on hard news, stories of community interest, and exploring the community’s daily pulse.
“It’s not all going to be top-of-the-hour news stories,” he said. “We want to acknowledge other things going on that have a cultural bent–that are just of general public interest to people.”
Bowden, who is generally calm, cool, collected, and willing to dig deep to represent all sides in a story, said he’s hoping his show will give listeners a more thorough, detailed understanding of the topics that will be discussed.
“[Television] differs in that, I think and hope is evidenced by what we’ll discuss on the show, provides an opportunity for a little bit longer-form explanation,” Bowden said.
“I can talk about these issues and ask questions that I hope will draw out both sides of a particular issue,” he said.
In addition to his interest in telling a full, complete story for listeners, Bowden expects his time as a City Councilman to give him a different perspective when covering issues that impact municipalities.
“I have some understanding of what affects citizens on a daily basis and some of the issues that taxpayers and elected officials have to deal,” he said. “In Upshur County, Harrison County, Nicholas County, in many cases, it’s all the same thing.”
The AJR News Network serves 14 counties in North Central West Virginia. The three stations that comprise the Network are 103.3-FM in Clarksburg, West Virginia, 93.5-FM in Buckhannon, West Virginia, and 95.7-FM in Summersville, West Virginia.