FOX 26 Houston KRIV's weekly political affairs program, “What's Your Point?”, hosted by senior political reporter Greg Groogan, has just celebrated its 500th episode.
The Sunday morning show, which features a rotating panel of Houston-area political analysts, journalists, and community leaders from across the aisle, has been on Channel 26 for nine years.
To illustrate the show's significance, on its 500th episode last Sunday morning, the special guest was Houston Mayor John Whitmire.
I wrote about the “What’s Your Point?” debut in 2016 and now revisit with original interviewees Groogan and FOX 26 KRIV Senior Vice President/General Manager D'Artagnan Bebel. For 2025, and in line with the media angle, we are also hearing from the show's first and now recently retired Executive Producer, Aprille Meek, as well as the original panelist and former ABC13 KTRK investigative reporter, Wayne Dolcefino.
Mike McGuff: 500 episodes is huge — what moment stands out most from the show’s history?
Greg Groogan: Mike, I think without identifying a moment, I'll identify an era. COVID could have killed "What's Your Point?" I mean, how do you do a weekly, ensemble, political talk show in the middle of a raging pandemic? Answer - we improvised and overcame, broadcasting via Zoom from the living room and sometimes, the backyard of our executive producer, Aprille Meek's Clear Lake home. It was sometimes rough around the edges, but the content and conversation were solid. More importantly, never was the discussion more valuable to our viewers who stuck with us, gleaning a steady stream of insight and information during a time which challenged us all.
D’Artagnan Bebel: It’s not so much that “a moment” stands out, over the years, there’ve been an assortment of more feisty dust-ups among the panelists.
Aprille Meek: In the very beginning, Greg's adjustment from reporter to host/moderator, He's always been a great listener, and that skill makes him a great host. Second would be COVID in order to accommodate pandemic restrictions and still keep the panelists engaged, we Zoomed - making tons of technical and digital changes overnight ( as did the entire industry) and having Greg in my backyard every Sunday morning. We never missed a beat on topics of the day, and the panelists continued to "call it like they saw it." Third - the first all-female panel.
In 2016, I asked you what made "What's Your Point?" different from "Meet the Press," and you said, 'Attitude.' After 500 episodes, is the attitude still there?
D’Artagnan Bebel: I have to give all the credit to the Host, Greg Groogan. I saw a passion in him for politics and figured out a way to create something, but yet had to differentiate it from the high-flying network Sunday shows, and yes, “attitude” remains a key differentiator to this day. It’s been Greg’s show for a while now, in that I trust his judgement and execution of his show. He will consult with me, as he needs to, when certain issues or problems arise, and his instincts about solutions, I’ve always been in agreement.
Was there a particular episode or debate that you feel really defined the spirit of the show?
Greg Groogan: Mike - I'm proud to say we have accumulated a group of fearless, independent thinkers who, regardless of their political persuasion, consistently call out corruption, malfeasance, and abuse of the taxpayer. What's more, our folks often hold elected leaders accountable well before the issues of contention make it into newscasts or into the newspaper. I like to think the "takes" delivered on "What's Your Point?" trigger an untold number of conversations across our metro and beyond. That's a good thing. A very good thing.
D’Artagnan Bebel: I’ve actually enjoyed the panelist participation as part of our election night coverage during Presidential cycles.
Aprille Meek: Frequently there's a defining moment that captures the "point" - it happens when panelists on opposite political viewpoints agree on a subject, or an action (always a little surprising because you think you know what they are going to say and then . . . ) OR when they acknowledge the other has a point and they agree to disagree. Being able to openly, respectfully express various viewpoints on the panel allows the viewers to do the same thing in their conversations, and civil discourse can accomplish positive things.
What does "What's Your Point?" mean to you personally after being part of it for so long?
Wayne Dolcefino: What’s your point is one of the truly great local news programs in the country, seriously, because it digs behind the headlines. It gives me a chance to rant in public in hopes of educating left-wing freaks.
How has the political landscape changed since you started the show?
Greg Groogan: There's absolutely no doubt it's become more polarized with extremists on each side of the spectrum gaining disproportionate power. I like to think of "What's Your Point?" as a haven for pragmatists and problem solvers - a "public square" for folks genuinely interested in making our city and state work better.
D’Artagnan Bebel: The increased divisiveness of “our” elected officials to the point where political, party affiliations and loyalty outweigh serving the people, and they can no longer have civil debates on the issues of importance to “we the people” and then resolve to agree and move on with work of the people.
Aprille Meek: Well, look at the headlines, local, state, national, there have been some huge swings and changes, but it hasn't changed the truth of the show.
Wayne Dolcefino: I think Harris County government has become the real local scandal. The out-of-control spending, higher taxes, a runaway toll road money machine, DEI and climate justice nonsense… soft on crime judges.
What's something viewers would be surprised to learn about how the show is made each week?
Greg Groogan: Viewers may be surprised to learn we actually curate the panel - with an emphasis on balance, depth of knowledge on key topics and desire to reflect the viewership we serve. It's not always perfect, but we try. Folks may also be surprised to learn that despite the frequent heated exchanges on the air, the "WYP" crew almost always leaves the fight in the studio and, most Sundays, walks out of the studio more or less arm-in-arm.
Aprille Meek: Besides that, Greg was in the backyard every Sunday morning during the pandemic before the return to the studio...how much time Greg spends on the phone every day talking to newsmakers, panelists, officials, watching live public meetings, reviewing clips and sound bites, and then discussing them. The only reporter I know who spent more time on the phone was FOX 26 sports anchor Mark Berman. Good old-fashioned reporting and connections to our community account for all the breaking stories and topics, leads on controversies about to break, and solutions about to appear.
Has there ever been a topic or guest that was too "hot" even for What's Your Point?
Greg Groogan: Not yet. In fact, if we ever begin backing off the truly controversial, I'll turn off the lights for good myself.
Aprille Meek: No, we persevered - however, there have been a couple times when we hit pause on a topic so that we could vet the source better and be sure we were clear on all the facts AND make sure that we had both sides of the story represented on the show. But always it made the show the following week. If a topic was important to our viewers, we pushed forward.
What’s the dynamic like between panelists when the cameras are off? Is it as fiery as it is on air at times?
Wayne Dolcefino: I think the early panelists got into real brawls. I loved arguing about race in particular. Because I believe it shouldn’t have a role to play in our society. That is the way forward. We were heading there until the political advocates tried to inject it in every story when a lot of times it doesn't have a damn thing to do with nothing. Most folks don't care about race. It’s old news. The original group of panelists were virtually the same every week… it got ugly… during commercials, some pretty good F bombs…..but when COVID hit it went to Zoom for a long time...it hurt the back and forth…the rotating panels now have been more professional, damnit. I don't have to be friends with my fellow panelists…. I want to argue… people enjoy the battle… and they always agree with me.
Do you think local political shows like this are even more critical today than when you started? Why?
Wayne Dolcefino: "What’s Your Point?" kept attention on the affordable housing scandal from the beginning. It has made news and critiqued the news. Nothing has been off limits. I think Harris County government has become the real local scandal. The out-of-control spending...higher taxes…a runaway toll road money machine… DEI and climate justice nonsense… soft on crime judges.
What’s Your Point?" and before that, "The Isiah Factor Uncensored" were some of your early local programming offerings. Has the success of these early offerings helped you develop all of the new shows you have debuted since then?
D’Artagnan Bebel: Not really, because the slate of shows that I’ve created since those 2 are on a variety of platforms, including Fox 26 Houston linear, Fox Local stream, and on FOX SOUL national network. WHAT’S YOUR POINT?, THE ISIAH FACTOR UNCENSORED, THE NEWS EDGE, THE NIGHTCAP, CHATTIN WITH CHELSEA, and most recently SCROLLIN WITH JEN & VEE span the gamut of target audiences, linear time periods, and content. The key component of my ongoing program development efforts has been the support of my boss, Jack Abernethy, and having been asked to add oversight of FOX SOUL to my duties about 2 years ago.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Wayne Dolcefino: I have been friends with Greg Groogan for forty years…great journalist. One of the few left who really gives a damn about the town, especially in the areas of education and the environment. He’s a great host and has made the show a must-watch.
