For the last seven years KVIE has been blessed by the presence and performance of a broadcasting veteran who defines the meaning of "class act." As the host of California Heartland, George Reading brings to the program far more than his finely honed reportorial skills, impeccable credibility, and intelligence. Above and beyond those essential qualities, it is the combination of George's grace, curiosity, and passion that serve to motivate and inspire all of us who have the honor of calling him colleague. It is, therefore, with great sadness that we accepted George's decision to make the January 19 broadcast of California Heartland his last. He says the time has come to devote himself fulltime to a wide array of off-camera interests.

A Note From George ...
Life, like farming, is measured in seasons. And in life there comes a season after the harvest. And so after 50 years of wandering the vineyards of broadcasting, harvesting stories from New York to California, it is time. Time to move on to other fertile, more private fields. I once thought that covering the White House, the Capitol, the movers and shakers who roam the corridors of power would be my richest reportorial harvest. It wasn't. Nor was covering the megalopolis of New York and Los Angeles. It was the quiet fields of the heartland. It was those so-called "common folk" with uncommon stories. It was the generous land of this great state. And the generous people who work it …and protect it. I had no idea the day I first introduced California Heartland as its host seven years ago that the harvest would be so rich, so rewarding. Or that the viewer, far from the fields of the farm, would also find such a connection. Of roots? Yes. A bit of our own truth? Perhaps. Even some wonder. Wonder at the simple miracle of it all. To me the heartland is not only a place out there that is changing but a place inside all of us that is changeless. And if we've reminded you now and then of that spot, then I'm especially grateful for the opportunity to have been welcoming you all these years into the heartland.

An accomplished correspondent and producer, Reading has created documentary productions about volunteer medics in Mexico, underwater exploration in the Monterey Bay, civil strife in Northern Ireland, and the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is the 1982 Los Angeles Winner of the Golden Mike award for best TV news reporting.

Since retiring as a commercial TV anchor, Reading has established a video news department for Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, a consortium of seven California State University campuses, and also does voice-over narration and productions through his company, Voice Works.

George | Patricia | Tim