Wisconsin-based engineer Terry Baun, an award-winning engineer who worked in both commercial and public broadcasting and was deeply involved with the Society of Broadcast Engineers including two terms as its president died January 1 at age 74. He had vascular dementia and had suffered a series of strokes over four years, according to his wife…
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Detroit Section will host a free virtual meeting open to all members, guests and non-members on Tuesday, January 11 at 7:00 p.m. The topic will be “Argus Building Buildout of Michigan Radio Studios” with speaker Bob Skon, Chief Engineer, Michigan Radio. This virtual meeting is free…
Longtime WMUK-FM (Kalamazoo) News Director Andy Robbins has retired. He hung up his microphone at the end of 2021 after 36 years of service to the station. He joined the station in 1985 and had been WMUK’s News Director since 1998. Robins succeeded previous News Director Tony Griffin, who had passed in 1997. Under Robins’…
The nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System last August showed improvement over the previous test in 2019, according to the Federal Communications Commission and a report on the test released in December. On August 11, 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC), conducted a…
On December 16, Cumulus Detroit’s 760 WJR announced a new on-air programming lineup, just in time for its 100th year anniversary celebration in 2022. The heritage Talk station launched the new ‘All Talk’ show in late mornings, “All Talk with Tom Jordan and Kevin Dietz,” capping a year of evolutionary moves that position WJR for…
Premiering online this week, the WKAR Public Media original program Off the Record presents “Evening with the Governor 2021,” featuring Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and First Gentleman Dr. Marc Mallory in conversation with senior capitol correspondent Tim Skubick. The special edition episode of the weekly public affairs program is available for streaming now in the…
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP As 2021 wound down, there were significant developments on SoundExchange royalties for webcasters – including broadcasters who simulcast their on-air programming through IP channels (such as on their websites and on mobile apps). While we covered many of these matters in our weekly Sunday updates on regulatory matters of importance to broadcasters,…
After 31 years in television, all of it in West Michigan, WZZM-TV’s (Grand Rapids) Brent Ashcroft has retired from the business to pursue a second career as a buyer and seller of coin collections. The station made the announcement on December 23. “It’s been quite the 31 years in the West Michigan TV business,” said…
The MAB was saddened to hear over the holiday break that longtime Lansing broadcast engineer Mike Winsky passed away on December 26 at age 66. Winsky was known for years as Chief Engineer of WILX-TV (Lansing); and prior to that served in the same capacity at WLAJ-TV (Lansing), a station he helped build with the…
By: Seth Resler Jacobs Media Strategies Twelve months ago, as we turned the page on 2020, we all hoped the new year would bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as we slog through a resurgence brought on by the Omicron variant, it feels naive to have the same hopes for 2022. Whether you…