The award-winning Michigan-based public affairs television series Off the Record marks 50 years on the air this week. The first episode of the weekly show examining Michigan politics and government aired on February 4, 1972. Seen statewide in Michigan and in Northern Indiana, the series is produced at WKAR Public Media and is a presentation…
After departing as APD/afternoon host at Cumulus Media’s WDRQ-FM (Detroit) last month, Bill ‘Broadway’ Bertschinger has joined MacDonald Garber Broadcasting as Program Director of CHR WKHQ-FM (Charlevoix) and Classic Country WSRT-FM (Gaylord). Both stations serve the Traverse City market. He will also host mornings with Kristin ‘KP’ Penrose. Penrose also joins MacDonald-Garber from Cumulus Detroit,…
Susi Elkins, Director of Broadcasting and General Manager of WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University, has been re-elected as Professional Vice Chair on the board of America’s Public Television Stations (APTS). The announcement was made by APTS on Wednesday (2/2). Elkins’ term begins on Monday, February 28, 2022. APTS is a nonprofit membership organization…
This past week (2/1), Peggy Warner’s 105.5fm, LLC has filed an application with the FCC to assign the license of WBMI-FM (West Branch) to non-commercial station operator Smile FM for $95,000. According to press reports, once the deal closes, the format will be flipped from its current classic country format to Smile FM’s noncommercial religious…
By: Seth Resler Jacobs Media Strategies A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the difference between building an Audience and building a Community. The key distinction is that members of a Community care about and communicate with each other; members of an Audience do not. I believe that as media continues to fragment with more…
Michigan Republican John James on Monday (1/31) announced a bid to represent the state in the U.S. House. The Hill reports that James, who ran unsuccessful Senate campaigns in 2018 and 2020, is vying to represent Michigan’s newly drawn 10th Congressional District. The district is expected to be competitive, as it encompasses parts of swing…
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP The FCC sent out a flurry of reminders to broadcasters who did not file their Biennial Ownership Reports by the December 1, 2021 deadline. As we wrote in our reminder in November, these reports were to be filed by licensees of all full-power radio and TV stations (commercial and…
Michigan broadcasters can now stream high school sports after the MHSAA changed its policy due to the efforts of the MAB and our members. Josh Trust, COO of Heritage Broadcasting in Traverse City, was instrumental in working on making the changes a reality. He sits down with MAB President Sam Klemet to talk about what…
We are proud to announce that 64 Michigan broadcast stations – 30 television and 34 radio – carried the Governor’s 2022 State of the State address this past Wednesday (1/26) night. The list of stations includes members of the MAB as well as the Michigan Association of Public Broadcasters (MAPB). The MAB provided commercial television…
Former WJRT-TV (Flint) Anchor/Reporter Elisse Ramey has joined WNEM-TV (Saginaw) as Anchor/Reporter. Ramey will be co-anchoring the station’s 5:30 and 10 p.m. newscasts. She spent over four years at WJRT. Prior to mid-Michigan, Ramey was an Anchor/Reporter for WITN-TV in Washington, North Carolina. Ramey also was Anchor/Reporter/Producer at WXVT-TV in Greenville, Mississippi; and also served…