People in radio
Drew Lee, morning co-host at KTLK/1130 (Minneapolis), died Saturday, June 25. Lee had been with the station since 2010. Co-host Jon Justice announced the news to listeners from the U of M Hospital, where he was recovering from open heart surgery.
The Minnesota Reformer reports that SAG-AFTRA members at APM Reports, which Minnesota Public Radio has said it is dissolving, filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the with the National Labor Relations Board.
Heather Reese has been named executive director of Wisconsin Public Media, which oversees Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin. She had held the position in an interim role since the death of Gene Purcell last August.
Minneapolis-based public radio veteran Ken Mills has launched an oral history project with plans to conduct 50 interviews to “preserve firsthand experiences of the founders and builders of public radio.”
RadioInsight reported that SummitMedia has named Brad Gould the president of its Omaha radio group.
People in TV
Scripps NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV/4 (Milwaukee) announced that longtime meteorologist Brian Gotter is leaving the station to take a job with the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Fund.
Bally Sports Wisconsin announced that former WISN-TV sports reporter/anchor Stephen Watson will join the network to host Brewers and Bucks pre-game and post-game shows.
The Star Tribune reported on recent departures by sports reporter Hobie Artigue from FOX O&O KMSP/9 and weekend sports anchor Andy McDonnell from Tegna NBC affiliate KARE/11.
The Des Moines Register recently reported on the hiring of meteorologists Trey Fulbright and Zane Satre at Hearst CBS affiliate KCCI/8.
Denise Hnytka has left her role as evening anchor at Tegna ABC affiliate WQAD/8 (Moline-Quad Cities), announcing on Facebook that she is “staying local, and you’ll likely still see my work, in a new way.”
David Earl departed from Hearst ABC affiliate KETV/7 (Omaha) on June 24 to attend the UNL College of Law. Earl had joined the station in 2013 as a reporter and was most recently the anchor of the 5 and 9 p.m. newscasts.
THANK YOU, #OMAHA! 🎉
— David Earl (@DavidEarlLive) June 24, 2022
It’s time to let you know that this is my last day @KETV. I’m headed to @UNLCollegeofLaw this fall, and I can’t wait to get started.
I’ll be threading some of my favorite stories here the rest of the day ahead of my final newscast tonight!
TV News streaming efforts intensify
Though neither owns stations in the Upper Midwest, it’s worth noting that ABC and NBC have both made moves to expand the reach of the local news product from their owned-and-operated stations.
NBC has launched new Roku channels for each one of its O&O stations, and their streams are also available through Roku’s Live TV function.
Meanwhile, Newscast Studio notes that ABC has added livestreams for all of its O&O stations to its main website, each branded as an “unlocked” stream. (ABC O&O local news streams were already available via Roku channels.)
These moves come a couple of years after CBS rolled out continuous news streams for all of its O&O markets, including Minneapolis, available on all platforms.
The addition of the NBC channels leaves FOX as the only network whose O&O’s don’t have a direct presence on Roku or Fire TV, though the O&O’s do have an extensive collection of streams on their websites and simulcasts of the stations’ broadcast signals are available with subscription services. FOX’s online platforms are leading the O&O groups in minutes, viewers, and visitors, according to a news release from the company this week.
Items reported here:
- Tom Barnard Leaving KQRS after Decades Dominating Morning Radio
- Remembering John Whaley, An Influential Journalist The Public Never Met
- Independent Christian Radio Station in McCook, NE, to Go Silent
- CBC News to Change National Anchor Lineup, Launch Streaming Channel
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