For the first time since his stroke in January, Matt Pinfield will resume his regular airshift at Cal State University Northridge AAA “88.5 The SoCal Sound” KCSN Northridge/Los Angeles and Saddleback College’s 88.5 KSBR Mission Viejo CA.
Pinfield will make his return to the station co-hosting with Program Director Marc ‘Mookie’ Kaczor on Friday, May 30 at 5pm. He will then resume his daily show hosting from 4-6pm weekdays on Monday, June 2. Pinfield said, “I am so excited and looking forward to getting back to work and on the air talking about music and doing what is truly in my heart. Lucky to be alive — I came out of that coma and woke up grateful and, to no one’s surprise, quoting lyrics. I really missed it. Love my friends, family and coworkers — so much to catch up on!!!”
He would spend two months in intensive care following a coma caused by pneumonia that he caught following his stroke.
Pinfield first joined KCSN/KSBR to host 2-6pm in March 2024. Best known for his time as host of “120 Minutes” at MTV from 1995-1999 and 2011-2013, Pinfield began his career in radio at Alternative “FM 106.3” WHTG-FM Eatontown NJ from 1984-94 and would later spend time at “92.3 K-Rock” WXRK and 101.9 WRXP New York, multiple SiriusXM channels, and mornings at 104.5 KFOG San Francisco. He also was hosting a Sunday night new music show on Meruelo Media’s 95.5 KLOS Los Angeles and Westwood One’s “Flashback“ at the time of his stroke.
Kaczor siad, “Matt’s passion has always been there. It all started in his youth, bringing seven-inch vinyl records on the school bus; DJing in clubs up and down the Eastern Seaboard; sharing music with us on the nation’s top radio stations; and becoming a companion and household name, while hosting some of the most popular shows on MTV during its heyday. He’s a tastemaker, an artist advocate and a friend. I can hardly wait until he’s back on air.”
General Manager Patrick Osburn added, “That cat has nine lives! We were thrilled to have him join our prime-time line-up in 2024 and we’re certainly thrilled to have him back. To hear the whole story of what happened, how it got fixed, and what comes next, be sure to tune in Friday, May 30, to Mookie’s PM drive show. He and Matt will play some great tunes and tell the story! You won’t want to miss it!”
Brian G 
What an amazing recovery! I’ll be listening Friday at 2pm Eastern for the interesting music and of course the story of his comeback.
On the subject of the non-commercial space generally, has the radio community ever paused to consider that a big reason for the popularity of public radio is the respectful, one-to-one tone? The hosts talk to us, not at us. SPAs, drop ins and support announcements are cordial and conversational. The attraction of non-comms goes beyond the absence of commercials. It’s the entire presentation — a sonic landscape that is calming, friendly, welcoming, uncluttered, unhurried.
Commercial programmers: Please! Enough with the psychotic electronic effects and frenzied, hyper-processed, noisy imaging drop-ins, IDs and promos. And while you’re at it, ease off the compression. It causes distortion, kills the transients and muddies the high end. Fun fact: There used to be a warning on the Optimod units : “Over-compression causes listener fatigue.”.
I think the tone of public radio, as well as the Triple-A format, non-comm and otherwise, is definitely a significant factor. It’s something I wrote about this week in a different context. I’m not sure that it works for every broadcaster, as evidenced by the various times when Top 40 tried to sound like rock radio. But a lot of what we have now in commercial radio is often the least of both worlds–neither personal nor brassy and entertaining.