2024 MAPB Public Media Impact Award Honorees
Award Recipients will be recognized during the Evening of Excellence at the MAB Summer Leadership Conference at Park Place Hotel on August 12, 2025. Click Here to purchase a ticket to the Evening of Excellence (Select "Awards Reception and Banquet Only").
Cynthia Canty
Professional Recognition
Michigan Public (formerly Michigan Radio) (Ann Arbor)
Cynthia Canty, a life-long resident of Metro Detroit, began her forty-year broadcasting career in October 1980. Her career included various positions in radio and television including News Director, Reporter, Anchor and Talk Show host.
In 2012, she joined Michigan Public (formerly Michigan Radio) to host the brand-new Stateside with Cynthia Canty program, a daily talk show focused on Michigan news and policy issues as well as culture and lifestyle stories.
Canty brought with her 32 years of experience in Detroit commercial radio and television broadcasting. Prior to arriving at Michigan Radio, she served as a news anchor and morning show personality with Jim Harper at WNIC-100.3 FM, WDTX-99.5 FM and WMGC-105.1 FM from 1980-2011. She’s also hosted public affairs programs at WKBD-TV, and was a reporter and anchor on WKBD’s “Ten O’clock News.” Her reporting and writing earned her many awards, including an Emmy and honors from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, the Associated Press, the Detroit Press Club, Edward R. Murrow Awards and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
In addition to her broadcasting experience, she also brought enthusiasm and perspective to the show. “We had been contemplating a weekday local talk show on Michigan Radio for some time,” said Steve Schram, former Executive Director and General Manager at Michigan Radio, “but felt we needed a dynamic, local host to really make it compelling for listeners. The local content of ‘Stateside’, anchored by an experienced professional like Cyndy, helped listeners make sense of events and issues affecting their lives and lifestyle here in Michigan.”
During her seven-year tenure as the host of Stateside, Canty conducted nearly 7,400 interviews. These included government leaders like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Gov. Rick Snyder (her very first Stateside interview), Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, Representative Debbie Dingell, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, countless state and local politicians. Additionally, she has helped to share the stories of Michigan artists and artisans, including Muskegon-born singer and Bettye LaVette, Robin Terry of the Motown Museum, numerous authors, and actors.
She also brought issues to light through interviews with notables including Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who used science to force the state of Michigan to admit it had caused the Flint Water Crisis, and closely followed the case of 20 year old Raheel Siddiqui, an Muslim-American from Taylor, Michigan, who died after 11 days of boot camp on Parris Island ultimately resulting in the court martial of his drill instructor. And a 2018 interview she did with Richard Phillips, the longest serving exoneree in U.S. history, won a Michigan Association of Broadcasters award.
In December 2019, Canty hung up her broadcasting headphones and retired after forty years in the business. Referring to her final seven-year run as the host of Stateside, she said, “I hit the jackpot. It’s allowed me to be a part of a passionate, hard-working, smart team whose goal every single day has been to put the spotlight on people and issues that are important to Michigan. To tell Michigan stories.”
The Ray and Peg Hirvonen Foundation
Donor Recognition
WNMU-TV (Marquette)
The Ray and Peg Hirvonen Foundation was established by the Hirvonens to support various local organizations that promote the arts and education in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Beneficiaries include the Superior String Alliance, the Community Foundation of Marquette County, the Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival, the Marquette Maritime Museum, and WNMU-TV.
The Foundation made its first contribution to WNMU-TV in 1993, recognizing the importance of public television in a rural area. The Foundation's goals closely aligned with the mission of public television.
After some general contributions, the Hirvonens expressed an interest in supporting WNMU-TV's local programming. In 2008, they were matched with "High School Bowl," the station's quiz program involving over 50 Upper Peninsula high schools competing for Northern Michigan University scholarships and the annual title of High School Bowl Champions. High School Bowl is a top-rated local program and the station's most expensive to produce. Contributions from the Hirvonen Foundation have helped offset labor and production costs, keeping High School Bowl on WNMU-TV for over 45 years.
In 2020, with the help of President Linda Hirvonen, the Foundation shifted its support to WNMU-TV's local public affairs program, Media Meet. The mission of the Ray and Peg Hirvonen Foundation aligns with that of Media Meet to sustain the quality of life in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Since 1975, Media Meet has served as a platform for diverse viewpoints, the underserved, and those interested in advancing the wellbeing of the 300,000 residents of Michigan's U.P. Thanks to annual funding from the Hirvonen Family, Media Meet will mark its 50th year in 2025, continuing to provide purposeful programming for WNMU-TV viewers.
Over the years, the Ray and Peg Hirvonen Foundation has contributed over $135,000 to WNMU-TV, including $10,000 annually for the past two years in support of Media Meet.