Sitting 11 stories up in a glass studio overlooking San Francisco, Peter Finch has come a long way from his days in the cramped, dark basement of SF State's KSFS. These days he feels like he is sitting on top of the world.
A popular KFOG morning show co-host and news personality, Finch has recently won awards in three categories at the 1994 Radio Television News Directors Association Award Ceremony. He won Best Serious Feature, Best Light Feature and Best Use of Sound for his "Fog Files" news segments.
Finch is also a part-time radio-news lecturer here at SF State. According to Jeff Swanson, a former student of Finch's, he is popular and respected among his students in the broadcast and electronic communication arts department.
"I was a cinema major but I decided to try a radio-news class," said Swanson, who is now a news intern for KSOL. "I was surprised. He is a great teacher with whom I really clicked and learned a lot from about radio."
San Diego-born Finch spent much of his childhood moving around California, but said he eventually landed in the small town of Santa Maria, where he attended high school and embarked on his career as a radio personality at the age of 17.
"I learned to be independent while I was growing up, and that helped me in Santa Maria," Finch said. "It's a smaller town and it was easier to get involved in one of the few radio stations. I started to hang around this rock station, and eventually, I got to do my own show from 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekends."
After reading a book written by Stuart Hyde, a former BECA professor at SF State, Finch was impressed.
"I went to State for four years, paying only about $100 per semester, and worked in an ice cream shop on Taraval to support myself," Finch said.
During his first few years here, Finch was a disc jockey and a program director for KSFS, before taking a news internship at, then rock station, KMEL during his senior year. He said he had one other radio job while he was going to SF State.
"During my sophomore year, I got a job with a station in Monterey, when United was still flying down there," Finch said. "I would fly down on Saturday morning and do a show, then I would sleep on a couch in the ladies room of the station, get up on Sunday, do another show, and fly home. I cleared about $10 every weekend but it was fun."
After graduating in 1981, Finch said he continued to work with KMEL doing part-time news on the weekends and nights, but when the station changed its format from rock to Top 40, he was let go. After that, Finch said his next few steps were big ones.
"During that summer, the 1984 Democratic Convention was in town. I covered it freelance for six rock stations around the country, and then was offered a job in Boulder, Colorado as a full-time morning newscaster."
Finch and his new wife, whom he had met at the ice cream store on Taraval, packed up and went to Boulder for the next eight years. Finch did the morning news and attended the University of Colorado where he earned his master's degree in journalism and taught some radio classes. By January of 1993, the Finch's had two children and decided to move back to the Bay Area.
"It was really scary," Finch recalled. "Neither of us had jobs out here, but we missed San Francisco and we wanted the kids to be close to family."
Luckily, he had some connections at KFOG and at SF State.
"I had been a 'foghead' forever, and I started subbing for newscasters," Finch said. "In October of 1993, I met Dave Morey, (the morning-show DJ) and we instantly hit it off. Now I'm co-hosting with him."
Besides being in charge of the morning newscast, he said he has many other responsibilities that actually seem more like privileges. He can often be seen hosting San Francisco events like the 2nd Annual KFOG Sky Show being held this weekend at Justin Herman Plaza or he can be heard interviewing and cultivating on-air relationships with such well-known sports figures as Steve Young and Dusty Baker.
"I like talking with these guys and putting a KFOG spin on public figures," Finch said. "Steve Young has told me that he enjoys his weekly talks with me because we are so laid back. It has helped him lighten up in dealing with the media."
Overall, Finch said the best part of his job is the creativity and spontaneity that he is allowed.
"I love being able to report the news with a slightly different twist," he said.
One thing he could live without are the crazy hours.
"I have been getting up at 3:15 a.m. for the past ten years. My kids tuck me in at 9:00 p.m. every night."
Finch said that over the past three semesters of teaching, he has come to recognize those students that he feels have it in them to succeed in broadcasting.
"The students that have a legitimate shot at radio need to be passionate, they need to be a 'radio junkie' like me," Finch said. "Radio is my love, but the glamour does wear off, and you become jaded unless you are dedicated and can work hard."
Finch's advice to students looking for a career in journalism:
Go to a small market; do an internship; get hands-on experience.
"I know teaching theory is important, but I feel my role at SF State as a person in the business is to teach hands-on in a real-world lab. Once a student gets an internship, the battle is half over."
As for his future, Finch says he plans to teach more at SF State and to continue his career at KFOG.
"I am living my dream job in the Bay area and I plan on staying here for a long time."