Local TV Journalist Returns to Host Connecting Point

SPRINGFIELD — WGBY’s local current-affairs show, Connecting Point, has a new host — who also happens to be a past one.

Beginning with 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 show’s 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 headed up WGBY’s public-affairs efforts for nearly 30 years.

WGBY Deputy General Manager Lynn Page said 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 Hayes added that Saldo will advance the station’s commitment to reliable local news and current-affairs coverage.

“Public media is a trusted source for information,” he said. “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,” she said. “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.”