In 1979, newsman Fred Honsberger began working at KDKA, and went on to host a successful evening talk show plus a top-rated afternoon drive program. Also in 1979, KDKA covered the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, first reported by Harrisburg newsman Mike Pintek. By 1982, Pintek joined the KDKA News staff and later became one of the station's most popular talk hosts, although he was let go at the end of 2005 as part of a programming overhaul. In 2007, he became the host of Night Talk on the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel. As of January 2009, Pintek was rehired at KDKA to host a 6p.m. to 10p.m. talk show, and, following the death of Fred Honsberger, took over the 12 noon-3 p.m. timeslot in January 2010. In July 2017, Pintek took a leave of absence to receive treatment for pancreatic cancer. He died on September 12, 2018.