Living in the Richmond District Good for "Fog Files"

By Buffy Maguire

Radio personality Peter Finch has a distinct undulating voice that is easily recognizable to thousands of Bay Area residents who listen to KFOG. But if you saw him on the street, you might mistake him for any other Richmond District resident.

"Radio creates a theatre of the mind and you don't have to worry about looking good," Finch says, laughing.

Any "foghead" in the City will know the name and voice of Peter Finch, who merges the news with his old-school disc-jockey style on the KFOG morning show, but they may not know he's a Richmond resident and one time neighbor of Anton Levee's Church of Satan on California Street.

In September KFOG radio (104.5 FM) celebrated 20 years as a rock station. Finch has been the station's news director since 1993.

"News has to reinforce the format, but it's not all music news. You have to know who your audience is. Our listeners are so cool they let me get into some heady stuff."

In addition to writing all of the news spots at KFOG, Finch also puts together solo journalistic pieces, known as "fog files," that profile a wide range of topics in the Bay Area from Bikram yoga for convicts to a story about the Oakland police and their chief.

"Fog files allow me to get out and interview folks on any given topic and I get to mix in music and movie clips. It's a labor of love."

His "fog files" are also scheduled to be turned into a series of print articles for the San Francisco Examiner.

As a Richmond resident, Finch enjoys the perks of the "Super K" corner store, where owner Ned and his daughters greet him. He's also been known to frequent the Bazaar Café's local jam sessions, which he turned into a "fog file" episode.

"The Richmond is like a small town where you really get to be part of the neighborhood," he said. "Plus, it's walking distance to great restaurants, movie theaters and cafes ­ everything you need."

Finch's weekday routine begins at 3:15 a.m., when he steps out of the California Street home he shares with his wife, two children and dog, Genieve, and heads to work.

"It is so quiet you can hear your own footsteps. Sometimes I can even hear the heavy surf from Baker Beach," he said. "When I was younger I never thought I'd get used to these crazy hours, but I actually have and it has its advantages."

After completing his 15-minute morning commute, he begins reading and rewriting the news wires.

"Everyday is different and you never know what is going to happen. I remember the day of Sept. 11, where we were delivering the news and we knew people were waking up and hearing the news for the first time. We had radio call-ins and early on we were reporting information we got off the New York City police website. I am proud of the job we did that day."

Finch began his radio career at an El Cerrito high school.

"I was always a radio guy and I was fortunate to go to high school in a small town where I got to be on the radio. I was always hanging out and by my junior year I was doing Sunday morning's Santa Maria High School report."

When he stumbled upon a career textbook in his high school library, he looked up radio broadcasting and quickly decided San Francisco State University was the place for him.

In a turn of life coming full circle, he now teaches an introduction to radio course and shares an office with his favorite undergraduate professor, Stuart Hyde.

Before landing in his well-suited niche at KFOG, Finch received his Masters in Broadcasting degree at the University of Colorado and worked at radio stations in Boulder and the Bay Area.

He cites the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco as a defining moment in his career. That's when he officially caught the "news bug" and decided to use the skills to complement his D.J. skills.

"There I was freelancing for radio stations all over the country. On one side there was Connie Chung and the other was Gary Hart. It was exhilarating."

While he's interviewed the likes of Woody Allen, Russell Crowe and local celebrities, including Steve Young and Gavin Newsom, his favorite guest on KFOG was Charo, who taught the whole radio station to dance the "cuchi-cuchi."

Finch finishes his workday as morning gives way to afternoon, which allows him to pick up his kids from school and return home, where he spends time with his 13-year-old son Davis and his 10-year-old daughter Julia and he's in bed by 7 p.m., getting a good night's sleep and dreaming up another "fog file."

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