Please share your background -- current city/town of residence, your current occupation, educational/professional info and of course, memories of growing up in Middletown and your relationship with the Middletown Journal.

After graduating from Fenwick High School in 1971, I started my journalism career as a summer intern at the Middletown Journal for four summers. All that experience helped me land a job at the Cincinnati Enquirer immediately upon graduating from Ohio University in June 1975. In my first 10 years at the Enquirer I did a little of everything – news reporter, assistant city editor, regional editor (over our SW Ohio bureaus in Middletown, Hamilton, Lebanon, Batavia and Lawrenceburg, plus the Columbus and Northern Kentucky bureaus) and features editor over the Tempo, Food and Arts & Entertainment sections. In 1985, I asked to become the TV columnist, and covered TV/Radio/Media/Entertainment for 30 years. I traveled twice a year to Los Angeles to preview new shows and visit TV studios, watching tapings of "Friends," "Seinfeld," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Tonight Show" and many other shows.

At the end of 2014, I was downsized, and left the paper along with 26 others. Since then I've covered TV/Media/Entertainment for Cincinnati Public Radio's WVXU and wvxu.org.

I still live in Butler County. My wife Sue and I built a home in Fairfield, near Jungle Jim's, in 1986. We have three grown sons. Sue has covered Butler County communities and schools as a freelance reporter for 30+ years.

Speaking of Middletown, on November 11 you'll discuss "The History of WPFB (1947-2017)" from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at MidPointe Library, 125 South Broad Street. What prompted your interest in WPFB's history and your desire to share it?

I was always fascinated by radio and TV growing up in Middletown. I remember listening to baseball games at night from stations in Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta. For the Enquirer, I would write about format and staff changes at WPFB.

When Northern Kentucky University bought WPFB in 2011, I immediately understood the significance. It was the end of an era: No more local newscasts, no more Middies or Falcons football or basketball games, no more Middletown-centric programming. When NKU dismantled and shed the WNKU network, I broke many stories about the demise of the popular indie rock station and the sale of old WPFB-AM and WPFB-FM.

Having researched WPFB, did you discover aspects of its history that you did not know previously and/or found particularly interesting? Please share an interesting fact or two about the station and/or its staff from that 70-year period.

I won't give away my entire speech, but here are a couple of things I didn't know: (1) WPFB was not Middletown's first radio station. (2) I was surprised that so many well-known TV/radio personalities once worked at WPFB, including talk show host Lincoln Ware and two people at WKRC-TV. (Told you I wouldn't give too much away!)

Now about you! On the WVXU/WMUB website, you're described as the "source of information about all things in local media..." for "30-plus years." Please describe "John Kiesewetter : Media Beat" -- its content and format. When is it broadcast?

Basically I'm doing for wvxu.org what I did for the Enquirer. I write and post stories/blogs about local and national media news. I'm the only person in Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky covering the comings & goings at local TV and radio stations. Since June I've broken the story that Rob Braun was quitting Channel 12; that Cammy Dierking will be leaving in December; and that John Popovich is retiring from Channel 9. I did the first interview with new Reds radio announcer Tommy Thrall (last February, before the first spring training game). Often my blog posts are the most popular stories at wvxu.org.

I'm also doing interviews on Cincinnati Public Radio's WVXU-FM (91.7) and the WMUB-FM (88.5) simulcast. We did the first interview with Rob Braun (in October) when he explained why he left WKRC-TV because he didn't fit with the changes made by owner Sinclair Broadcast Group. I participate on interviews during the noon weekday "Cincinnati Edition" call-in show, and do feature interviews on the "Around Cincinnati" arts & entertainment show (7-8 p.m. Sunday). I've talked to TV stars (Rob Lowe, Jason Alexander), authors, historians, filmmakers and musicians.

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Above are images of several hosts and guests who appeared on WPFB throughout the years : WPFB DJ Tommy Sutton reading on-air, autographed portrait of entertainer Moon Mullins, WPFB show host Fern Troutvine (photo from June 9, 1959, Middletown Journal), Middletown Police Chief Russ Dwyer at the microphone, headshot of Middletown Middies Football Coach Jack Gordon and “The Ol’ Country Boy,’ Kash Amburgy (with book).

Any scoops you'd like to divulge?

This isn't really isn't a scoop, but it's definitely unique: This weekend (Nov. 8-9), WVXU is taping a one-hour radio show adapted from a 1955 Rod Serling TV play called "O'Toole From Moscow." It's a Cold War comedy in 1955 about confusion between the Russians and the Cincinnati Reds. NBC's "Matinee Theater" broadcast it once – live – on a Monday afternoon! It was not filmed, taped or recorded.

I've known about the show for 30 years, and finally tracked down the script with the help of Serling historians. This summer I rewrote the script, adapting it for radio from TV. This weekend eight CCM students will perform the play under the direction of Professor Richard Hess in a studio at Cincinnati Public Radio. Anne Serling, daughter of Rod Serling, is coming in from upstate New York to be our host and narrator. We'll add music and sound effects, and broadcast it before Opening Day next year. This is a 30-year-old dream come true for me!

If memory is correct, during your long career as a reporter you've interviewed a number of famous people. Just for the fun of it, please recall one or two (or more, if you like) of your interviews.

I've truly been blessed. This kid from Middletown Fenwick spent a day at "ER" with George Clooney, and a day at "Cheers" with Lebanon High alum Woody Harrelson. I went shopping with Red Skelton. I ate dinner (with 100 TV critics) at Bob Hope's house, and he told me about his freezers filled with Montgomery Inn ribs. I spent 1-1/2 days in Pittsburgh with Fred Rogers watching him tape "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." My favorite trips were to the ballpark to spend a game in the Reds radio booth watching Marty & Joe. (I'm now writing a book about Joe Nuxhall.)

Some of my favorite interviews were with big stars before they were world famous: Jennifer Garner, Mark Harmon, Cris Collinsworth, George Clooney, Roseanne, Edie Magnus, Kevin Frazier.

#tbt - Former Middletonian/longtime Cincinnati media reporter John Kiesewetter to share "The History of WPFB (1947-2017)" at MidPointe Library