For Dave Wilson, being named co-host of West Virginia MetroNews Talkline, it was another step in a winding journey. A journey that began as a kid in Saint Marys, West Virginia with a cassette deck, a dream of being on the radio and the love of sports.
“I always wanted to be in radio,” he says, smiling. “I was a kid making commercials and playing DJ in my room.”
That early passion led him first to a local overnight shift at his hometown station. But it was Marshall University—specifically, a piece of advice during freshman orientation—that truly changed his path.
“The Dean of the school of journalism at the time, Dr. Hal Shaver told me, ‘If you wanna be in radio, go find the folks at WMUL,” Dave remembers. “And I did.”
Like many young broadcasters in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Dave dreamed of sports glory—calling games and being the next great play-by-play man. Sports was the goal. News? That was just where they bribed you with donuts to show up.
“I only went to the news meetings for the donuts and pizza,” he laughs.
But life—and radio—rarely follow the script.
A move to Northern Virginia for his then-fiancée opened a door. The sliver of news experience gained at WMUL-FM landed him a reporter role in Winchester, Virginia. A few years later, Dave met West Virginia MetroNews host Hoppy Kercheval, who gave him a chance to anchor and report at MetroNews in Morgantown.
“I still thought I’d get back to sports,” he says. “But then the opportunities kept coming.”
It was a winding path that eventually led Dave to first fill in for Kercheval on Talkline and later to become host, along with T.J. Meadows. Kercheval built Talkline over four decades into a platform that sets the political conversation in motion in the state.
“There’s a certain gravity that comes with it,” Dave admits. “You know the audience is listening— all the affiliates, people across the state—and they expect you to get it right.”
What makes him the right person for the job isn’t ego or volume, but fairness—honoring Hoppy’s legacy while shaping his own. For Dave, that means spotlighting the issues, the voices, the moments that matter to West Virginians.
“One day, it’s a senator. The next, it’s someone asking why their road still hasn’t been paved,” he says. “Either way, it’s about the people and their stories—not me.”
Still, he laughs, recalling the moment that truly set him on this road—a tough love conversation in Dr. Charles Bailey’s sportscasting class.
“He told me I had all the potential in the world, but I was at the time coasting, and if I wasn’t going to step up, then I might as well quit wasting my time,” Wilson recalls.
That push transformed Dave from a student with a natural gift to one who maximized every opportunity WMUL offered.
Today, looking back, he marvels at how it all unfolded.
“I’m lucky. A guy from St. Marys doesn’t usually end up here,” he says. “I’m not sure I was ever supposed to—but with great teachers, a supportive wife, and a few well-timed nudges, here I am.”
Now, as the voice of Talkline, Dave is right where he’s meant to be—helping West Virginians understand their world, one story at a time.
And he’s not done yet.
“Success? For me, it’s retiring from MetroNews one day. That’s the goal,” he grins. “Keep doing the work, keep serving the state, and see where this crazy path leads.”
