Broadcasting Industry News
WQHH Hands Out 1200 Backpacks to Lansing Students
On August 18, MacDonald Broadcasting’s WQHH-FM (Lansing) held their 12th Annual Backpack Giveaway to help students and families prepare for the start of the new school year. Assisted by station sponsors as well as Communities in Schools of Michigan, the station handed out the backpacks drive-through style over a 2-hour period.
Read MoreWOOD-TV To Host Debate for 3rd Congressional District Race
Nexstar Media’s WOOD-TV (Grand Rapids) has announced that the station will host a debate among candidates for Michigan’s newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday, September 13. The debate, bringing together Republican John Gibbs and Democrat Hillary Scholten will be anchored by WOOD-TV political anchor Rick Albin.
Read MoreGray Television Adopts Minimum Wage of $18 Per Hour
On August 29, Gray Television announced a new minimum wage of $18 per hour across the company. The new policy will become effective on October 1, 2022, for essentially all full-time, non-commissioned and non-contracted employees of Gray and its wholly owned subsidiaries. Roughly 2,000 employees will receive a raise as a result of this new policy.
Read MoreFree Jacobs Webinar – AQ4: Radio Talent in the Post-Pandemic Era
As radio continues to compete with a multitude of competitors, including Spotify and SiriusXM, the importance of air personalities remains a key to the industry’s success. For the fourth consecutive year, Michigan-base Jacobs Media Strategies, in partnership with Morning Show Boot Camp, is releasing the findings of its AQ4 study in a free webinar on Thursday, September 8 at 2 p.m. Eastern.
Read MoreEd Christian Passes at 78
Michigan Broadcasting Hall of Fame and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Ed Christian, founder and chairman of Michigan-based Saga Communications passed away August 19 following a short illness. Christian bought WCER AM/FM (Charlotte) in 1970, but would sell the stations three years later to become VP/GM of 100.3 WNIC Detroit. He would then rise to President of Josephson Communications until purchasing the company for $38.5 million to form Saga.
Read MoreHeritage Broadcasting Announces New Lifestyle Show
Cadillac-based Heritage Broadcasting Company has announced an additional hour to its (already) 9 hours of news and content by launching Good Day Northern Michigan beginning September 6. Viewers can watch this show on WWTV/WWUP-TV starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. This move will make the one-hour show the only local content northern Michigan can watch in this timeframe.
Read MoreWGRT Welcomes Choze Powell to News Team
WGRT-FM (Port Huron) has announced the addition of Choze (Harold) Powerll to its local news team. Powell joined the station the week of August 8. Choze currently serves on the board of the Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce, and he received the Chamber Choice award at the 2022 Eddy Awards ceremony in May.
Read MoreAudacy Debuts ”Cash The Ticket” Football Betting Podcast
Audacy has announced the debut of “Cash the Ticket,” a new football betting podcast from 2400Sports, the company’s sports podcast studio. Hosted by WXYT-FM (97.1 The Ticket)/Detroit’s Mike Valenti and Jim Costa, twice weekly episodes will spotlight both the NFL and college football from Labor Day until the end of the season.
Read MoreWPHM Continues 75th Anniversary Celebration
Liggett Communication’s News/Talk/Sports 1380 WPHM continues to celebrate its a milestone anniversary this year. In March of 1947, the radio station originally known as WTTH was first issued a license from the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast on AM 1360 in Port Huron with 1,000 watts of power. WTTH signed on the air December 6th, 1947 with its call sign reflecting its original owner, The Times Herald newspaper.
Read MoreWEMU Gets Visit From NPR President and CEO
On Wednesday, August 17, NPR President and CEO, John Lansing, dropped in for an informal visit with WEMU-FM (Ypsilanti). Lansing has Michigan ties with newsroom stops in Kalamazoo and Detroit but is relatively new to public broadcasting. Discussed was WEMU’s hyper-local news focus in Washtenaw County and the important niche it fills for a highly educated and engaged community that has no local TV and no daily newspaper.
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