Michigan Public’s News Director Vincent Duffy has announced that Zena Issa has joined the NPR affiliate as the station’s Criminal Justice reporter. Zena Issa was previously an intern in the Michigan Public newsroom and has also worked extensively with the Stateside and digital teams on special social media and election projects.
WDIV-TV (Detroit) (Local 4) has announced that Detroit-area native Lauren Kostiuk has joined its news team. The alum of Shelby Township’s Eisenhower High School and Columbia College Chicago has been with the station since April.
In many of the comments filed by broadcasters and their representatives in the FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” docket, high on the list of rules suggested for deletion were the local broadcast ownership restrictions. Changes in these rules were also a subject high on the discussion list in Las Vegas at the recent NAB Convention.
Midwestern Broadcasting Company (Traverse City) has shared the news that Traffic Director Tina Martin is retiring from the company after 23+ years of service. Martin most recently was at the company’s Alpena stations (WZTK-FM/WATZ-FM/WRGZ-FM). Martin spent her entire adulthood in Radio Traffic, starting in high school with Traverse City’s WLDR-FM.
As public broadcasting faces potential funding cuts from the federal government, WKAR Public Media (East Lansing) is holding a special event about the power and impact of public media in mid-Michigan. The WKAR Community Impact Forum takes place this Tuesday, May 6 at 6:30pm at WKAR Studios on the campus of Michigan State University. All members of the community are invited.
Schwartz has worked for Sinclair since 2004, when he joined as the General Manager of the broadcaster’s outlet in Michigan, WSMH-TV (Flint).
Elizabeth Murphy Burns, a pioneering figure in American broadcasting who led family-owned Morgan Murphy Media for 43 years, has died at the age of 79. This sad news follows announcement of her retirement from the company in March of this year.
Poynter has announced that 23 executives from across the nation selected for the 2025 Public Media Executive Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative, a six-month fellowship developed by the Poynter Institute and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). WKAR Public Media (East Lansing) General Manager Shawn Turner is among those selected.
While May is one of those months that does not have any routine, scheduled FCC filing deadlines, there are still a number of regulatory dates and deadlines that are worthy of note for broadcasters.
Longtime WZZM-TV (Grand Rapids) Vice President of Technology Chuck Mikowski has retired after 45 years of service to the station. Mikowski’s first day at WZZM was January 7, 1980 when he came aboard the station as a maintenance technician.