This past Wednesday (11/30), Michigan Radio Executive Director & General Manager Steve Schram officially retired from the University of Michigan’s radio broadcast operations, taking a break from a 47-year radio career, the last 17 years spent at the public radio station.
On November 18, Latitude Media’s WCZY-FM (My 1043), WMMI-AM/FM and MyMichiganPodcasts.com (Mt. Pleasant) held the annual “Fill a Mayflower” event. This year’s effort collected over 15,000 non-perishable food items (that filled the truck and then some), and more, including personal care items for the Care store in town, plus over $7,000 in cash.
After 40 years in radio, and the past 17 years with Cumulus Media’s WQKL-FM (Ann Arbor), “Morning Mayor” Martin Bandyke has announced that he will be retiring on December 22nd. Bandyke made the announcement via MLive.
On Giving Tuesday (11/29), Graham Media’s WDIV-TV (Detroit) held its annual telethon to benefit THAW, The Heat & Warmth Fund. THAW, established in 1985, has distributed over $250 million in assistance to more than 280,000 Michigan households since.
Twitter is a mess. Since Elon Musk purchased the social network, the company has seen mass firings, a failed blue-check initiative, draconian ultimatums, a mass exodus of the remaining employees, and the unbanning of rule violators. Musk, who embodies the hustle-and-grind culture that was so in vogue prior to our pandemic recalibrations, has lost much of his shine during the ordeal.
Until recently, to many in the industry, HD radio seemed to be an afterthought – maybe useful in feeding analog translators, but otherwise not very accessible to the public. But there is now more and more interest in HD radio given the increased inclusion of receivers for this digital service as standard equipment in a majority of new cars.
On Veteran’s Day (11/11), Lenawee Broadcasting’s WLEN-FM/WQTE-FM (Adrian) held its 17th annual daylong “Thank A Vet” fundraiser from 6 a.m. to 6p.m. and this year raised a record $48,000! This total beat last year’s all-time record of $34,000.
Detroit Public Television (DPTV) and General Motors are joining forces to bridge the talent gap and diversify Michigan’s education and workforce pipeline. While employers have been sounding alarm bells for years about a shortage of skilled workers, the state’s ability to retain, attract and train qualified job candidates remains immensely challenging.
On November 7, the stations of Black Diamond Broadcasting kicked off their annual “Blanket the North” campaign to collect newly-purchased blankets, sheets, pillows and towels for the less fortunate in Northern Michigan.
Your MAB has been tracking the progress of EAS equipment manufacturers and their plans for making their products compliant with the new CAP polling requirements set by the FCC to be in place by December 12, 2023.