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Michigan Public’s Zena Issa Selected as Fellow for the AIR New Voices Radio Program

Michigan Public News Director Vincent Duffy has announced that Zena Issa has been selected as part of its 2025 cohort of the New Voices Radio program from The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR). This is the first New Voices cohort dedicated solely to public radio professionals. Zena Issa is Michigan Public’s new Criminal Justice reporter, joining the team after previously working as a newsroom intern and Statewide production assistant.

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Mentor Partners to Acquire Additional FM in Big Rapids

Imlay City-based group owner Smile FM has filed an application to assign the CP for WWRW-FM (Big Rapids) to Mentor Partners, Inc. in a cash/swap deal. Mentor, headed by Jeff Scarpelli will pay cash as well as assign the license and assets of translator W256CC (Big Rapids) to Smile FM in exchange for the FM station construction permit.

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Michigan Design Center To Help WXYZ-TV’s Book Campaign with Special Event

Michigan Design Center is helping WXYZ-TV (Detroit) and the Scripps Howard Fund’s If You Give a Child a Book campaign.  On Friday, September 12, the center will open its doors to timeless stories at the Designing the Classics decorating event. Donations raised at the event will help provide free books to students across metro Detroit, giving them a chance to build libraries at home and help their love for reading grow.

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FCC 2025 Regulatory Fees Set – Dates and Payment Procedures to Follow

David Oxenford

Last Friday (8/29), the FCC released its Order adopting the regulatory fees to be paid by broadcasters and other regulated entities at some point before the October 1 start of the federal government’s new fiscal year.  The Commission slightly increased fees for TV stations by 1.2% from last year (from $0.006598 to $0.006674 per population served) after the FCC refined its fee estimates made earlier this year to account for exempt stations.  Fees for radio stations, however, generally decreased slightly from last year. 

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Gary Burbank: 1941-2025

Art Vuolo, Jr. has shared news of the passing of one-time CKLW air talent Gary Burbank  Burbank died early Thursday (8/28) at the age of 84.  Born Billy Purser in west Tennessee, he worked at numerous radio stations which included: WMPS (Memphis), WNOE (New Orleans), WAKY and WHAS (Louisville) and CKLW in Windsor/Detroit.  He is best known for his years at “The Big One” WLW-AM in Cincinnati. 

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Michigan Public and WJRT-TV Recipients of NABJ Awards

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) announced its 2025 Salute to Excellence Awards winners during its annual gala at the #NABJ25 Convention & Career Fair this past Saturday in Cleveland.  Among the winners this year are Ann Arbor-based Michigan Public and Flint-based WJRT-TV.

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Cumulus Promotes Three at W4 in Ann Arbor

Cumulus Media has announced promotions of three staffers at its WWWW-FM (Ann Arbor/W4 Country). Brian Welch has been elevated to Program Director for the station.  A native of St. Joseph, Welch came to Ann Arbor in 2004 to attend the University of Michigan and joined Cumulus in 2011.

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September 2025 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – FCC Regulatory Fees, Political Windows, EAS Event Code, Rulemaking Comment Deadlines and more

David Oxenford

It is time for our look at September’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.

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