Local Media Mix

PETER BARBOUNIS

Morristown Storyteller

Sometime during the 2023 holiday season, Peter Barbounis, MHS class of 1990 (pictured), was scrolling social media and noticed that many people were reminiscing about growing up in Morristown. “There was a lot of ‘Does anyone else remember when...?’ and it struck something in me,” he says. “I have always loved this community. I love the history behind it. I love the people here and the stories they have to tell.”

Barbounis is executive producer and host of “Beyond the Green,” a podcast that chronicles the people who have made an impact on Morristown and examines issues facing the town today. For instance, he recently interviewed Morris School District Superintendent Dr. Anne Mucci and Business Administrator Anthony LoFranco about the upcoming $158 million bond referendum. He’s also working with the Morris Country Parks Commission to tell the history of all 39 county historical parks.

But “Beyond the Green” is really about people, so for Barbounis it’s important that you can see the expressions on people’s faces as well as hear the inflection in their voices when they tell their stories.

Original Voices

“When someone is sharing their story,” he says, “it should come from them, in their own words and voice, not filtered into a quote—especially when it’s meant to serve as material for the community’s history. Sitting across from someone on camera for 45 minutes creates a connection that a shorter conversation can’t, and it becomes a lasting archive of this community’s story, not just content people scroll past,” he says. 

Growing up in Morristown, he says, “we knew the history here. It was ingrained into us what was underneath our feet. But there are lots of new people here who didn’t have that experience. What we’re trying to do is educate and tell the stories of the Silent Generation and the Boomers—the people who have known this town longer than anyone—before their stories are gone,” he says. 

Find episodes of “Beyond the Green” at beyondthegreenshow.com.

DANIELLE GALIOTO

Good-News Hound

Morristown resident Danielle Galioto started her career at a now-defunct 24-hour cable news network before spending 25 years in corporate communications. Over the years, she wrote a lot of corporate newsletters. She has combined those two experiences into her passion project “The Bright Beat,” a quick weekly e-newsletter detailing good news happening in the world. 

“I found myself being very depressed every time I turned on the news,” she says. “I felt like I had to brace myself for impact whenever I tried to read a newspaper. Every story was just so negative.”

She decided that if she felt this way, there was a good chance a lot of other people did, too. Each week she mines news sites, general newsletters that she subscribes to, and other sources to compile “The Bright Beat.” Before a story makes that cut, she carefully checks her sources.

“Finding good stories is not as hard as you might think,” she says. “There’s a lot of good news out there, but it gets buried or kind of ignored by large media companies, so you have to do some digging.”

Relevant, Timely, and Positive

As for Galioto’s definition of good news? “For me, I didn’t want to write only about fluffy stories, although there is a place for those feel-good, uplifting, put-a-smile-on-your-face stories in each newsletter,” she says. “I wanted the newsletter to be about timely stories that are relevant to the masses.” 

 Recently, she has highlighted examples of kindness by World Cup fans from Japan, Norway, and Scotland; a California start-up that’s battling water shortages by pulling drinking water out of the air; and the sharp decline in roadside and waterway litter in America. 

“Bad news is what gets the clicks,” she says. “There’s a saying in journalism: ‘If it bleeds, it leads,’meaning it’s the bad stuff that gets people’s attention. I really want to highlight the good stories, so they don’t stay buried and so people don’t miss them.”

Find out more and subscribe to “The Bright Beat” e-newsletter at thebrightbeat.com.

KATE CHERICHELLO TENTE

Health Promoter

Two of Kate Cherichello Tente’s favorite things are New Jersey—she grew up here and moved back as an adult—and health—she’s a certified fitness instructor. She’s also a performer who has toured with the USO and appeared in commercials, television shows, and films. She has married those passions and professional experience in her streaming series, “Healthy in the Garden State,” which examines expert-backed ways to live healthier across New Jersey. 

“When we think of health, maybe the first things that come to mind are doctors’ offices, gyms, or eating vegetables,” says Cherichello Tente. “But there are so many more layers to health, including the mental, social and emotional aspects.” 

It’s important to Cherichello Tente that the show touches on them all. She points to a segment in Season 2, Episode 1 that covered the Miracle Project at the Mayo Performing Arts Center as a favorite. “Theatre is incredible. It gets you out of your shell and builds confidence,” she says. “The Miracle Project takes it to a different level because they work with children and young adults with disabilities. On the day we visited, everyone there—students, staff, and volunteers—was smiling the entire time. It was such an incredible example of how to support social and emotional well-being.”

The Many Sides of Health

During the series, Cherichello Tente has taken a Jane DO fitness class, talked trail safety at Loantaka Brook Reservation, and explored how smallpox in Morristown impacted the American Revolution. 

There’s so much health content to cover in New Jersey that Cherichello Tente also hosts “A Dose of Health,” quick, information-focused interviews with local health experts that are all 15 minutes or less. 

Find out more about “Healthy in the Garden State” and “A Dose of Health” at healthyinthegardenstate.com.