It is an honor to serve our more than 285 member stations and nearly 4,000 broadcasters in the state who are an essential piece of the fabric of Michigan, keeping Michiganders safe and informed.

2022 was a transitional year for the MAB, but also a year marked by new opportunities.  Over the past 12 months, the MAB launched a brand-new website, MichiganMedia.com, connected broadcasters to the next generation of talent at the Great Lakes Broadcast & Sports Media Academy – the largest event of its kind in the country.  We shared the value and importance of our industry with lawmaker both at the Statehouse and in Washington D.C., brought together sales departments with ad agencies during our inaugural Pitchfest, and launched an online series to offer mental health support for members all while continuing to provide continuing education at our conferences, honoring the best in our industry at the Broadcast Excellence Award and Hall of Fame ceremonies, and the critical Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program.

We are excited to build on the momentum from 2022, but believe even more opportunities lie ahead for the Association and our members in the coming year including more training and learning options, connections with lawmakers, and reasons to celebrate.

Over the next few weeks, we will announce nearly $25,000 in scholarships to support the future of our industry pursue their careers.

We will keep our attention on promising, young broadcasters in March when we recognize our student Award Winners at the Great Lake Media Show in Lansing, an event that will also include session for engineers on ATSC 3.0 and Cybersecurity and a first-of-its-kind broadcaster’s summit to identify the needs of the industry moving forward. The Summit will be hosted by one of the brightest minds in broadcasting, Steve Wexler of Good Karma Brands.

On Saturday April 29th, the MAB is going to roll out the red carpet at Sound Board inside the Motor City Casino in Detroit during a special night recognizing our Broadcast Excellence Awards winners including naming the Stations of the Year.  The incredible work of Michigan broadcasters deserves to be celebrated in an extraordinary way and we believe the last Saturday in April will be a celebration unlike any other.

In May, we are going to hit the links and raise money for our Foundation to continue our support of young people in broadcasting with a Golf Scramble Fundraiser at the Emerald Golf Course in St. Johns. We encourage everyone to come together for a day of networking, fun, and support.

This summer, we are hosting special learning programs for sales and management teams with sessions in both the lower and upper peninsula to ensure members from all over the state have access. We also will provide training for news teams and journalists with an exclusive event in Grand Rapids (details to come later this year), and for all members with our monthly Third Thursday webinars.

In August, the MAB will welcome members to Detroit for our Annual Business Meeting and Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame Awards dinner at the historic Shinola Hotel downtown.  The event will be the kickoff of the Association’s 75^th anniversary.  You’ll want to be there for what will be a truly special celebration of our industry.

And at the end of the year, the MAB will, again, return to Ford Field for the 2^nd Annual Great Lakes Broadcast and Sports Media Academy.  We were thrilled to welcome more than 600 student and 800 people in December for the Inaugural and know we can connect with even more students at the 2023 event.

And these are just some the initiatives for the MAB in 2023, but there are many other opportunities for those in every part of our industry to connect, learn, and celebrate.

We want you to be a part of them all and welcome your input on ways the MAB can best serve broadcasters in the state.  We encourage you to reach out to our entire team to offer your ideas.

On behalf of our entire staff, we couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the future and are proud to work for and with our members on making broadcasting in Michigan as strong as possible.

Thank you and, again, happy new year.

Sam Klemet
President & CEO
Michigan Association of Broadcasters