Business & Tech
Edgeworth Entrepreneur Encourages Others' Endeavors
John Poister has a start-up radio station that encourages start-ups of all kinds. After struggling for years, Pittsburgh Business Radio is finding a voice.
John Poister could not have picked a worse day to start a new business. It was Sept. 15, 2008, three years ago today, when he and his team fired up a new radio station. That was also the day that investment giant Lehman Brothers went belly up, sending world markets into a tailspin.
The new Pittsburgh Business Radio was in for a bumpy ride and took a good long one. Despite a weak economic climate that made finding sponsorship difficult and at times impossible, Poister remained committed to his vision.
He wanted to start a radio program that would not only cover news of interest to the Pittsburgh community but also a show that would paint colorful and compelling portraits of how business and entrepreneurship work.
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The start-up makes Poister an entrepreneur, but his background is in broadcasting. For decades he worked behind the scenes managing television newsrooms in Pittsburgh, including a long and successful tenure at WTAE-TV. Poister has always enjoyed the spontaneity of radio, however, and he saw a need in the marketplace for a hometown look at how business works.
PBR broadcasts on station 1360 AM and presents a block of local programming from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Poister says that after many lean months, the station is starting to find an audience.
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Poister, 61, grew up in and is a longtime resident of . He's an avid runner who puts in 5 miles every day around the streets of the town.