After 49 years in the business, WXYZ-TV reporter/investigator Jim Kiertzner has announced that he will be retiring September 15. Kiertzner, who joined the station in 2007, previously spent 4 years across town at WDIV-TV. Prior to Detroit, Kiertzner was in Saginaw, both at WNEM-TV and WSMH-TV. He came to Michigan after working in Kansas, Nebraska… read more
Member stations are advised to check with their IT, web and cloud services providers to be certain they are patched for a new Apache vulnerability. The vulnerability, first discovered late last week, is severe because it is in a system that underlies most company systems around the world, and has been in use for decades. … read more
To my Dear Friends and Colleagues: It is with excitement and some trepidation that I write to you in this last newsletter of the year as the President of MAB. I will be stepping down as President on January 2 after 36 years. I will continue as development manager of the MAB Foundation for a… read more
WKAR Public Media at Michigan State is launching a new jazz radio show on New Year’s Day. A Groove Supreme presents two hours of jazz every Saturday evening, hosted by Michael Stratton. A Groove Supreme debuts at 8 p.m. ET on Sat., Jan. 1, 2022, on WKAR 90.5 FM from East Lansing. Mid-Michigan jazz fans… read more
Ken Evans will now serve as Director of Content for Townsquare Media Grand Rapids, effective immediately. In his new role, Evans will oversee all of the on-air and online content creators in the market for Active Rock WGRD-FM, Hot AC WLHT-FM, Classic Hits WFGR-FM, Adult Contemporary WTRV-FM and Hip Hop WNWZ. “Ken’s leadership was evident… read more
WWJ-TV (CBS 62), the ViacomCBS-owned station in Detroit, will build from scratch a full-scale, hyper-local news department in 2022. The announcement was made December 14 by Wendy McMahon, President, and Co-Head, CBS News and Stations; Adrienne Roark, President, CBS Stations; and Brian Watson, Vice President and General Manager of WWJ-TV and sister station WKBD-TV (CW50)…. read more
On December 9 and 10, iHeartMedia’s STAR 105.7 (WSRW-FM) and B-93 (WBCT-FM) aired the 22nd Annual Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Radiothon, sharing patient stories about how The Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital annual fund supports over 20 different programs like the center for child protection, the Pediatric Oncology Resource Team (P.O.R.T.), the Peter and Joan Secchia… read more
On December 9, Cumulus Media’s WJR-AM (Detroit) presented its 10th Annual SAY Detroit Radiothon, hosted by Mitch Albom. The live broadcast originated from the Somerset Collection in Troy. The 15-hour event (6 a.m. – 9 p.m.) gathered a record $1,650,540 through donations, auctioned items and purchased autographed memorabilia. All proceeds went directly to charity —… read more
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP An auction of construction permits for 27 new TV stations is scheduled to occur in June 2022, as we noted in one of our weekly updates on regulatory activities for broadcasters. This auction will be the first auction of new TV channels in over a decade – and the first in over… read more
By: Seth Resler Jacobs Media Strategies Buckle in, we’re going deep into the weeds this week… As a general rule, once a listener comes to your website, the last thing we want to do is send them elsewhere. That’s why I frown on websites using the “Latest Posts” widgets that direct people back to social… read more