The summit was inspired by the urgent need to educate the public about the rapid loss of local reporting capacity, a crisis playing out across the country but acutely felt in Michigan, where 41 of 83 counties have just one or no local news outlet, and the state has lost 40% of its newspapers since 2005.
Audacy Detroit has named Chris Fillar as the new morning co-anchor on WWJ-AM. Fillar steps into the role alongside Jackie Paige, with the duo now leading weekday broadcasts from 5-10 a.m. Fillar, who has delivered sports updates on WWJ and sister WXYT-FM since 2018, brings more than a decade of broadcasting experience to the post.
McGuire brings more than a decade of nonprofit fundraising experience and a deep commitment to building meaningful community partnerships. She will lead WGVU’s efforts to grow philanthropic support, strengthen connections across West Michigan, and ensure that every donor’s contribution is responsibly stewarded.
McKibbin Media Group (MMG) (Jackson) has announced its 5th annual Fall Fest & Chili Classic will take place on Saturday, September 27, 2025 from Noon until 7 p.m. in downtown Jackson, presented by County National Bank, The Brokerage House, and Michelob Ultra.
WKAR General Manager Shawn Turner has been reappointed to the Michigan Veterans’ Facility Authority (MVFA) Board of Directors, the ten-member board that governs Michigan Veteran Homes. And, WKAR Senior Director of Station Operations Brant Wells has been named co-chair of the PBS Interconnection Working Group (IWG).
These penalties were imposed even though, from the description of the incident in the Consent Decree, it appeared that neither the station nor its employees were responsible for the objectionable content that ran on the visible TV screen. According to the description of the incident, the objectionable video did not pass through the normal transmission chain at the station and did not come from any of its equipment.
FOX Television Stations (FTS) announces leadership promotions across multiple markets. In Detroit, Paul McGonagle, currently Vice President and News Director of WTTG-TV (Washington, D.C.) has been named Senior Vice President and General Manager of WJBK-TV Detroit, succeeding longtime broadcast leader Greg Easterly, who is retiring.
Gray Media, Inc. and The E.W. Scripps Company have entered into agreements to swap television stations across five mid-sized and small markets, resulting in the creation of new duopolies for each group. The local broadcasters anticipate these transactions will give them the market scale and depth to strengthen their financial durability, in turn allowing them to preserve and deepen public service to their communities with essential local news and sports programming.
Wisconsin-based Civic Media is acquiring five stations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from J&J Broadcasting. Civic Media says the deal will be completed through a newly formed partnership between Civic Media and the Michigan Independent Media Group. Included in the deal are WJMS-AM and WIMI-FM in Ironwood; WUPY-FM, Ontonagon; and WKMJ-FM and WMPL-AM in Hancock-Houghton.
VanHouten had a successful decades-long radio career in sales and management at Detroit radio stations, including WABX, WJR, WRIF, WLLZ and 97.1 the Ticket. Following his radio days, he became a digital consultant in the advertising and marketing industry. He most recently was a consultant to Blarney Stone Broadcasting in Graying.