WLNS-TV (Lansing) reported this week (9/2) that State Rep. Graham Filler (R-93) unveiled his plan to expand Michigan’s AMBER alert system by changing the criteria to issue an AMBER Alert to not require evidence of abduction when the missing child is disabled.
WGRT-FM (Port Huron) has announced the hiring of Andrew Kercher as the new host of “Limelight,” the station’s popular show highlighting the people who influence culture, commerce, and community in the Bluewater area.
On Friday (8/30), the FCC released a Public Notice confirming that the Form 395-B, reimposed by the FCC earlier this year (and the subject of several appeals), will not be due September 30, 2024, as we speculated earlier last week in our look ahead at September regulatory dates.
Two Marquette local news stations will soon combine resources, rebrand under a unified local news brand and expand local news coverage in the area. Starting September 9, My UP News will offer 20 hours of live, local news per week across the stations
Tegna’s WZZM-TV (Grand Rapids) has announced that morning meteorologist Samantha Jacques has been named the new Chief Meteorologist, leading the WZZM/13 Weather Impact Team. Veteran Chief Meteorologist George Lessens is retiring after 44 years in November and announced her new role during the evening newscasts.
Two WKAR senior directors have been selected to participate in the PBS Mentor Program. Melanie McGuire, senior director of development and communication, and Ashlee Smith, senior director of content and education, will be serving as mentors this upcoming year.
In collaboration with Don Anthony and Morning Show Boot Camp, Jacobs Media surveyed more than 500 participating U.S. radio personalities, hosts, and producers in the U.S. for AQ6, including nearly 60 of whom are currently unemployed. They expressed how they feel about key issues affecting their jobs and their careers.
Sports Rap Radio has shut down its programming on Audacy’s WXYT-AM this past Tuesday (8/27). A group led by FOX Sports Radio host Rob Parker had leased the station starting back in June. Audacy reports that the station will return to BetQL Network programming which it was before the flip in June.
It is time for our update on the coming month’s regulatory dates and deadlines to which broadcasters should be paying attention – and the deadline that probably is most important to all commercial broadcasters is not yet known. That, of course, is the deadline for the payment of annual regulatory fees – which must be made before the federal government’s October 1 start of the new fiscal year.
Cornerstone University’s WCSG-FM (Grand Rapids) announced last week that longtime News Director Becky Carlson has retired after 40 years. In a Facebook post, the station writes that “Becky has served WCSG with humility and patience over the years and has consistently practiced careful discernment in selecting news stories and relaying the day’s headlines with an impartial, factual, and compassionate approach.