Veteran News Director Mike Schram has joined Gray Television’s WILX-TV (Lansing) as News Director, effective May 3. A graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Journalism, he started his career in broadcast journalism as a newscast producer at WLNS-TV in Lansing. He then spent several years as a producer at sister Gray station WJRT-TV (Flint). …
On April 22, the Kresge Foundation and Wayne State University’s WDET-FM (Detroit) announced a foundation grant to replace the station’s aging and failing transmitter to ensure over-the-air broadcasts for years to come. Station general manager Mary Zatina said that Kresge’s grant of $150,000 complements more than one thousand donations, large and small, raised from generous…
A 10-application precedent has prevailed at the Federal Communications Commission which has voted to adopt that limit on broadcasters in an upcoming filing window for noncommercial FMs, according to a report in InsideRadio. The decision allows the Media Bureau to move forward with the filing window, which will be the first time in more than…
Vickie Thomas, City Beat Reporter for Audacy’s WWJ-AM (Detroit), has announced her retirement at the end of the month. Her last day live on the air is scheduled for April 29. She will continue to host the weekly “Black Business Minute” feature for the station. Thomas tweeted on April 16, “After 30 years @WWJ950, I…
Veteran WLUC-TV (Marquette) News Anchor Steve Asplund has announced that he will retire in February 2022 after more than 42 years at the station. WLUC Vice President and General Manger Rick Rhoades recently made the announcement. “Steve has served this station and this community for over 40 years,” Rhoades said. “No one is more trusted with…
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP As we highlighted in our weekly summary of regulatory issues for broadcasters, last week saw a letter from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo to the FCC asking for the FCC to review the enforcement of the rules established by the CALM Act, which prohibits loud commercials on TV stations. The letter cites news reports of thousands…
The annual Michigan Associated Press Media Editors broadcast competition has announced their winners in the 2020 Michigan APME awards. In the broadcast category, General Excellence awards for 2020 went to WLNS-TV (Lansing); WDET-FM (Detroit) and WKAR-AM/FM (East Lansing). Michigan’s APME’s “Rising Star” broadcast award went to Angeline McCall of WXMI-TV (Grand Rapids). The Kalamazoo Gazette…
After a seventh-month fight against the West Nile virus, WOOD-TV (Grand Rapids) Barton Deiters passed away April 16. Deiters spent a professional career of more than 30 years in journalism, first as a print journalist at the Grand Rapids Press and then later at WOOD-TV. In a tribute story on the station’s website, it was…
The MAB is sad to pass along word that Chris Herlein, affectionately known as “Boatman” by friends and listeners of WWKR-FM (Hart/Ludington), passed away April 18 at age 54, reportedly after contracting the COVID-19 virus. Herlein passed away at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital. In a article pubished in Shorelinemedia.net, his daughter Heidi Bennet recalled that…
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s biggest challenge to legalizing marijuana may be his fellow Democrats, according to a recent article in POLITICO. The New York Democrat has repeatedly promised a vote on cannabis reform, even without the backing of President Joe Biden. He repeated that vow in a Senate floor speech on Tuesday. “Hopefully the…