'It's a thing': Steve Klamkin reflects on radio career covering RI's biggest stories

Steve Klamkin over the years has covered high-profile criminal trials, including the one of Vincent "Buddy" Cianci after the FBI investigation known as Plunderdome.

Klamkin is recognizable for being at the forefront of media scrums over the years. But he's also well-known for the unique signoff he's had at the end of news reports for WPRO radio: "Steve Klamkin, WPRO News."

"I don't have a big booming voice, I never have," Klamkin said Wednesday. "The signoff from my stories over the years — it just happened and I never gave it a thought. And then people started saying it back to me ... so I thought, 'I guess it's a thing.' Well, come to find out, it's a thing."

Klamkin recently entered semiretirement, but he's continued to report for Latino Public Radio, which now broadcasts entirely online. Klamkin said he's hard back to work, interviewing multiple people himself before appearing as a guest on the show.

"It's been great fun," Klamkin said.

Later in the show, Kim and Eli discussed the “Stories We Wish We Wrote.” They included:

Kim’s picks

• At nearly 108, this Middletown woman may be the second-oldest living RIer. What's her secret? by Antonia Noori Farzan, The Providence Journal
• Meet the Providence 5th-graders running their own newsroom by Ben Berke, Ocean State Media

Eli’s picks

• THE ‘AMAZON EFFECT’: Warehouse looms over Johnston, but will it fulfill economic promise? by Matthew McNulty, Providence Business News

Watch “Behind the Story” Thursdays at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on the WPRI 12+ TV app.

• How to download the free WPRI 12+ smart TV app

It airs on TV (Sundays at 8 a.m. on FOX Providence and 11 a.m. on The CW Providence), and will be available on demand through the WPRI 12+ app and right here on WPRI.com.

“Behind the Story” is hosted by Eli Sherman and Kim Kalunian of 12 News, along with Dan McGowan of the Boston Globe