‘Behind the Mic’ With WLIW-FM’s Gianna Volpe

Gianna Volpe, host of “Heart of the East End” on 88.3 WLIW-FM, is known for her vibrant personality and dedication to listening to the community. In recent conversations, she shared insights into her philosophy as a journalist, her deep connection to the East End, and love for its festivals.

Express: How did you come to appreciate community journalism, and what role does it play in today’s world?

Community is so important. And as an undergrad at Missou [University of Missouri], I did not fully appreciate community journalism. You know, I went in thinking of the gray lady [The New York Times], covering wars and breaking global news.

My first job out of college was at the Shelter Island Reporter, which is a microcosm for what the East End is and all of the issues that we deal with like water quality. They’re magnified on the rock and it is the smallest of communities. I was welcomed into the community pretty quickly.

I got to fall in love with a community and understand what it means to write the news even when the people you’re writing about are the same people you’re seeing on the street every day. And I came, in my time here on the East End, to really understand the importance of community journalism, which I now consider the most important.

Express: How does your show, ‘Heart of the East End,’ foster discussion and provide an alternative to the divisiveness seen elsewhere?

I remember when I was getting ready to graduate from journalism school in 2010, I already was seeing people splitting off into tribal camps, getting their news from different places and different outlets tailoring headlines, etc. to feed certain extreme perspectives in an effort to drive clicks. I saw the danger then, and I have been fiercely trying to bring people back to the table. Now, with the advent of social media and the algorithm, that has become a nearly impossible task. People aren’t even able to speak to one another because they are being fed wildly different versions of reality.

So, I very much treasure the format of my show — being music from all decades and genres, interviews with folks from all walks of life — because I want everyone to be able to get something and to quite possibly be one of the last places where you can hear something that isn’t being fed to you because of some formula that says you’re going to want to see this.

Express: Why are community events, like festivals, important to the East End community?

We are so lucky to have such a vibrant community. And in the context of journalism in the nation — where there are widening news deserts — we really are so lucky to know what is going on in our community. And that the same can be said for our cultural community.

There is no shortage of nonprofits doing amazing work for the community. It’s part of what makes me feel so lucky to live out here, especially in tough economic times. We’ve gone through COVID and beyond. I know that no matter how bad things may seem, that our community is just such a richly interconnected and interwoven web. Our gatherings are the ships rising all tides. These community events are part of what makes it such a happy place to be. Like, there’s always something going on.

Express: How does that affect how you select guests for your program on WLIW-FM, and what drives your approach?

When I was doing print, I had these wildly long quotes because I loved the sources telling the story. It felt pure to me. And when I got into radio, which feels like where I’ve always sort of meant to be, it satisfies that purity because I want to hear your story. It removes me entirely, which again it feels very pure to the journalistic mission, but also here on this station I really love to live the mission of public broadcasting that this is for and by all of us.

Express: What are some of your favorite East End festivals, both professionally and personally?

From the station’s point of view, Sag Harbor American Music Festival is a favorite. We always broadcast from there. It’s fabulous. It brings out a lot of our local talent, which as far as culture makes me feel like we are living in the Nashville of the Northeast. We have so many unbelievably talented musicians. And so you can walk around Sag, which — while it’s not my favorite place to park — certainly is among my favorite places to walk around. I think it’s at this point second only to Greenport.

I love the Maritime Festival. It benefits the restoration and upkeep of Bug Light and the East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation. I love Shellabration, which supports the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program. But as a mom, I love the Riverhead Block Party. I’ve always gone — but since Diane Tucci of Main Street Agency has taken it over, it’s better than ever.

Express: How do you approach music selection for your show, particularly during festival time? Can you give us a sample playlist?

My show is a little different because generally I will do themed playlists that are sometimes based on the guests. And so that could be focusing on a word that has to do with them or the topic they’re talking about. So, I will put together a playlist of more than a hundred songs that have that word in the title. A lot of times, much of what I find I’ve never heard before. And so I will make them fresh every morning, which is a really special and exciting thing for me, as well as the listeners, because we’re like learning together. The most important thing is that I’m playing local music. We play more local music than I think anywhere else. And it is very important to us to make sure that our local musicians are well represented and well cared for, well-loved and always feel welcome here.

Here are some local listenings:

“Ferry King” by Aggie Miller — a rising star from the North Fork with a ballad for anyone crossing North and/or South Ferry to make it out to one of the upcoming festivals.

“East End Run” by The Nancy Atlas Project — a CLASSIC about our maritime heritage.

“The Downeaster ‘Alexa’” by Billy Joel — a must-listen to song about the Montauk Striper Wars with a special nod to Alexa Ray who has a new EP coming out soon!