April 2025
Michigan Public’s Sarah Cwiek Wins McCree Advancement of Justice Award
Michigan Public reporter Sarah Cwiek has been selected as a winner of the 2025 Wade H. McCree Advancement of Justice Awards, sponsored by the Michigan Press Association Foundation. Sarah was honored for her story: “A wrongful conviction, and a Detroit serial rapist who stayed free: Here’s how it happened”.
Read MoreWXYZ-TV Wins 2025 McCree Journalism Award for Investigative Report
The Michigan Press Association named WXYZ-TV a winner in the 50th annual Wade H. McCree Advancement of Justice Awards. A panel of four judges representing law and media chose WXYZ-TV’s “Improper conduct by a powerful probate judge” to be awarded one of the honors.
Read MoreBeasley Media Group Detroit, Michigan Athletics and Learfield’s Michigan Sports Properties Announce Multi-Year Broadcast Partnership
Beasley Media Group Detroit, in partnership with University of Michigan Athletics and Learfield’s Michigan Sports Properties, has announced a multi-year broadcast agreement that will make 94.7 WCSX-FM the new flagship radio home for the Michigan Wolverines. The partnership will officially kick off with the 2025 Michigan Football season.
Read MoreSinclair’s WWMT-TV Unites to Help Local Food Banks
On April 9, the staff at Sinclair’s WWMT-TV (Kalamazoo) came together to help two local West Michigan food banks: Loaves and Fishes in Kalamazoo and the South Michigan Food Bank in Battle Creek. Station staff volunteered at both food banks to bring awareness as part of the nationwide “Sinclair Day of Service.”
Read MoreSettlement Between NAB and SoundExchange on Webcasting Royalty Rates for 2026-2030 – Rates are Going Up for Broadcast Simulcasts
A proceeding before the Copyright Royalty Board to set the rates to be paid to SoundExchange for the public performance of music by a non-interactive commercial webcasting service for 2026-2030 started last year, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025. SoundExchange and one of the major webcasting parties remaining in the case, the NAB, this week filed with the Copyright Royalty Board a proposed settlement of the current litigation over the royalty rates to be paid to performers and copyright holders.
Read MoreTim Kochenderfer Named Station Manager at WXYZ-TV/WMYD-TV
Scripps Media has announced the promotion of Tim Kochenderfer to the role of station manager for WXYZ-TV and WMYD-TV (Detroit), effective April 14. As station manager he will help with day-to-day operations and also continue to lead news.
Read MoreMichigan Ice Storm Update
Last week, your MAB News Briefs highlighted three broadcast towers in northern Michigan that went down due to ice-build up during the severe weather that existed over several days. As we wrote, the 600-foot tower of MacDonald Garber Broadcasting’s WKHQ-FM (Charlevoix-Petoskey-Traverse City) was toppled.
Read MoreWNEM to Broadcast 15 Loons Games in 2025
In partnership with Gray Media’a WNEM-TV (Bay City/Saginaw), the Great Lakes Loons have entered into a broadcast agreement that will air 15 games during the 2025 season on WNEM TV-5 and WNEM+.
Read MoreNAB Requests the End of the 39% Cap on Nationwide Television Station Ownership – Looking at the Issues
The NAB last week submitted a letter asking the FCC to quickly repeal the 39% cap on national ownership of television stations. This cap precludes the ownership by one company or individual of an attributable interest in television stations capable of reaching more than 39% of the television households in the United States. The rule has been in place since 2004.
Read MoreRevitalize Revenue, Preserve Your Radio Stations’ Soul
Houston, We’ve Got a Problem: Radio isn’t dying—it’s facing a revenue challenge. As digital platforms expand their reach, many broadcasters have responded by gutting what makes radio special. This short-sighted strategy is like treating a broken arm with aspirin—addressing symptoms while ignoring the underlying fracture.
Read More