WCMU General Manager Rick Westover is hopeful for an even greater impact this year. “Our goal is to see 15,000 meals with the help of Mercantile Bank,” said Westover. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to help our neighbors and make a real difference during the season of giving, and listener donations make it all happen.”
Blarney Stone Broadcasting’s “Up North Sports Radio” WGRY-FM (Grayling) is the latest station to join the statewide 97.1 Detroit Sports Radio Network, originating at Audacy’s WXYT-FM (Detroit). WGRY joins four other stations around the state that are airing the new network, which launched this past Monday (12/1).
Currently celebrating its 55th year, Operation Good Cheer provides seasonal comfort and joy to children in Michigan’s foster care system through thoughtful, personalized gift deliveries. Each year, program administrators collaborate with foster care agencies to collect holiday wish lists of up to six gift ideas from participating children across the state.
Every year, the pattern is the same. You flip the switch to Christmas music and the reaction is off the charts. Ratings spike. Social media lights up. Sales is thrilled. Then, a few days in, the familiar comment pops up, usually from someone inside the building. “Why are we playing the same songs over and over.”
This past Sunday (11/16), IHeartMedia’s WJLB-FM (Detroit) held its annual “Coats for Kids” event. The event, held this year at Eastern Market in Detroit, is dedicated to keeping children across Metro Detroit warm throughout the cold winter. Coats for Kids was hosted by WJLB on-air personalities Bigg Dawg Blast and Chris Carsyn.
MediaBrew Communications in Marquette (WFXD-FM/WKQS-FM/WRUP-FM) is reaching out across Marquette County to help spread holiday cheer to local veterans. The company’s 23rd Annual “Christmas is for Veterans” gift drive is underway, helping the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans.
Gray Media’s WILX-TV (Lansing) has announced the release of Baking News: Recipes & Stories from David Andrews, a 152-page collectible cookbook that brings the longtime anchor’s warmth and storytelling from the newsroom to the kitchen. The book features a delicious mix of recipes, personal stories, and favorite dishes from David, as well as contributions from familiar faces across WILX News 10.
During the Government shutdown, Michigan Civic Media Alliance closed on its its deal to buy WUPY-FM (Ontonagon), WMPL-AM/WKMJ-FM (Hancock) and WJMS-AM/WIMI-FM (Ironwood) from Jerry Hackman’s J&J Broadcasting. The deal also included the Hancock-licensed translator W297CD that simulcasts WMPL as well as the Ironwood-licensed translator W221EH that simulcasts WJMS.
Past surveys have enabled Jacobs Media and participating stations to identify key digital trends, including awareness and usage of AI, smart speakers and the rise of voice technologies, on-demand audio and video entertainment options like podcasts and short-form video, in-dash entertainment, as well as the surge in YouTube usage.
Wasting no time following the reopening of the government, the FCC has published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the 2022 Quadrennial Review in the Federal Register, setting December 17 as the deadline for initial comments on the questions asked by the FCC.