WKAR Public Media (East Lansing) is saying goodbye Friday (5/27) to longtime General Manager and Director of Broadcasting Susi Elkins as she leaves the organization to take a position with the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union. Shawn Turner is stepping in to serve as the station’s Interim General Manager. He is a professor in the…
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP Here are some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the last week (5/14-20), with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations. The FCC issued a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to be considered…
Townsquare Media has announced that Matthew ‘Mojo’ Lersch has joined their cluster in Lansing in a dual-station air personality role. Lersch joins the station’s WITL-FM as morning drive co-host, paired up with Kristen Matthews for the 5:30 to 10 a.m. shift as “The WITL Wake Up Show With MJ and Kristen.” Lersch also adds afternoon…
Imay City-based Smile FM has added its second AM station to its roster of stations, purchasing WGVS-AM (Muskegon) from Grand Valley State University. As reported in your MAB News Briefs, the university shut down both WGVS and WGVU-AM (Kentwood-Grand Rapids) on January 7 of this year after stating they would turn in the licenses for…
In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, broadcasters are urging the Commission to not mess with success. “Although internet connectivity can be affected by weather and other extreme conditions, the legacy EAS system is always available to provide a resilient, redundant pathway when internet outages occur,” the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) wrote. It…
By: Seth Resler Jacobs Media Strategies Smart speakers can be a small but important source of streaming for radio stations. We recently published the results of Techsurvey 2022, the radio industry’s largest online survey of radio listeners. The data shows that while smart speaker growth has stalled among radio listeners, 35% of respondents report owning…
The winner of this year’s Edward L. Bliss Award for Distinguished Broadcast Journalism Education is Bob Gould, a Professor of Practice in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University. Gould began his career as a television news photographer in 1990 at WILX-TV in Lansing, spending the rest of his professional career at WZZM-TV in…
The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) has announced the recipients of the 2022 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. The 7 Michigan broadcasters won a total of 13 awards in Region 7, which is shared with Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the…
Jonathan “JR” Ruppel is named Director of Content for Townsquare Media’s cluster in Lansing, effective June 1. He’ll also become Program Director for Country WITL-FM and Classic Rock WMMQ-FM, with oversight of News/Talk WJIM-AM and Sports WVFN-AM. Rupple joins the company from Country WPOR and Classic Country WZAN & W268CS (970 AM & 101.5 The…
Beasley Media Group’s WCSX-FM (Detroit) has announced that Big Jim’s House Stone Soup Project has taken the fundraiser for Vets Returning Home to a National Level with “The Freedom Wrap.” Big Jim’s House will take the 1974 Ford Bronco Stone Soup truck and will wrap it in pictures of Veterans from all over the country…