This year marks the 19th season of Living St. Louis, we’d like for you to get to know the Living St. Louis producers. They come from different backgrounds, but they share a love of telling St. Louis’ stories.
Anne-Marie Berger
Senior Director of Content
About Anne-Marie:
I have been at Nine PBS for 21 years, so I was just a kid when I started here. Since then, I have gotten married and have two amazing girls, Sofia (9) and Cecelia (5) so I still get to do kid things! One nice thing about COVID is I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with my girls, which is also why I like to take our dog Rex on long walks alone.
How long have you been working on Living St. Louis?
I have been working on Living St. Louis since DAY ONE in January 2004.
What’s your favorite story you’ve ever done for the program?
This is a tricky question to answer when you have been doing this as long as I have. But I must say that when I landed on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS John D. Stennis somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, it was absolutely incredible. The story was about the history of McDonnell Douglass and their contributions to naval aviation. My cameraman and I spent 36 hours on that ship. It was a once in a lifetime experience for sure!
Jim Kirchherr
Executive Producer
About Jim:
I grew up in Chicago, went to the University of Illinois, and started my broadcasting career at a radio station in Danville. After a couple more stops, I came to work in St. Louis as a reporter at KTVI on election night of 1978, settling in University City. I have two grown daughters and a grandson who finally allows me to have a decent game of catch.
How long have you been with Living St. Louis?
I worked for four years at Radio Free Europe in Munich and returned to St. Louis in 1991 with new interests and perspectives and found my new job at Nine PBS a perfect fit. I’ve been here ever since.
What kind of topics do you like to cover for the program?
I still consider myself a general assignment reporter, curious about anything and everything, politics, history, science, and the interesting and sometimes quirky characters of the past and present.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Free time? I like old movies, cooking, playing the piano, and reading—currently making my way through the many novels of Anthony Trollope.
Ruth Ezell
Senior Producer
About Ruth:
I’m a native of Detroit and have also lived in San Francisco, Chicago and Cincinnati. I’m the second of four siblings (and the only girl). I love reading (so many books, too little time) and enjoy listening to a wide variety of music.
How long have you been with Living St. Louis?
I’ve been working in St. Louis since 1992 and started part-time at Nine PBS in the fall of 2003 (and went full-time in April of 2004). I remember cringing the first time I heard a young adult say: “I grew up watching you!”
What’s your favorite story that you’ve done for the program?
My favorite story tends to be the one on which I’m currently working (or recently completed). Right now, there are two: the Panthéon ceremony in Paris inducting Josephine Baker (I think that makes the fourth story I’ve produced about her), and a conversation with departing Jazz St. Louis CEO Gene Dobbs Bradford.
What’s a subject you’re looking forward to covering this year?
I’m still in the process of figuring out what 2022 will look like, but there’s one labor-intensive project I’d love to do one of these days: The first year (or so) in the life of an Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale. The horses are bred and raised at Warm Springs Ranch in Booneville, Mo. and they’re magnificent creatures!
Brooke Butler
Producer
About Brooke:
I’ve been a proud St. Louisan for a little over a decade now after living in Jefferson City, northeast Missouri, and southeast Iowa. Coming from a very musically talented family, I grew up participating in musical theater, choir, orchestra, and I will always be a band geek at heart. I graduated from Webster University with a degree in Film, Television, and Video Production in 2018 and I am currently pursuing a master’s degree in New Media Production - also at Webster University. My most recent hobby has been learning to garden with my daughter, Frankie, who likes to help by playing in the dirt.
How long have you been with Living St. Louis?
I have been working since 2018 in various capacities with the amazingly talented team that creates Living St. Louis. First as a Production Support Intern, then as an Associate Producer, and now as a producer.
What’s your favorite story that you’ve done for the program?
There have been so many great stories that I’ve been fortunate enough to tell but my favorite story that I’ve produced was about the Red and Black Brass Band. They brought so much joy to St. Louis during the pandemic and Nine PBS got to spread that joy by sharing their story.
What’s a subject you’re looking forward to covering this year?
Stories that I look forward to telling each year are those about the field of Early Childhood Education. This subject hit home for me because not only am I a parent but before I started at Nine PBS, I was an early childhood educator for 8 years. Bringing awareness to the challenges and solutions that affect our most vulnerable learners is where I feel Nine PBS – and myself as a producer – can make a meaningful impact.