Longtime Milwaukee host Jane Matenaer has announced plans to retire after a 44-year career in radio. Matenaer got her start at KNUJ/KXLP (New Ulm-Mankato, Minn.) and later moved to Milwaukee, where she hosted mornings at WMYX/99.1 for 24 years. She then worked at “B93.3” (WLDB) and WTMJ/620 before joining Civic Media in 2022. Matenaer’s show runs from 9 to 11 a.m. weekdays on eight stations. Her last show will be Dec. 12.
Elsewhere, longtime anchor and former colleague Darren Danielson has announced plans to retire from Hubbard ABC affiliate WDIO/10 (Duluth). Danielson began his TV career at KMOT/10 (Minot) in 1981 and moved to then-CBS affiliate KDLH/3 (Duluth) for an anchor role in the mid-80s. After leaving KDLH, Danielson co-hosted a weekly public affairs show on PBS station WDSE/8 (Duluth) until joining WDIO in 2011 to take over for Dennis Anderson. Danielson’s last show will be Dec. 5. He will be replaced by Dillon Morello, a former WDIO sports anchor who is returning to the market after two years in Buffalo, N.Y.
And longtime anchor Judy Clark has announced plans to retire from Gray NBC affiliate WEAU/13 (Eau Claire). Clark started her career as a reporter for WAXX/WAYY radio and joined WEAU as a reporter in 1990. She later moved to the news desk, where she currently anchors the noon, 4, and 5 p.m. newscasts. Clark will retire Dec. 5.
Kidd O’Shea announced that he is returning to Milwaukee as a morning traffic anchor on Scripps NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV/4 and as afternoon host on iHeartMedia Classic Hits outlet “95.7 BIG FM” (WRIT). The Mequon native got his start at WKTI-FM and then WMYX-FM before moving to “Good Morning Washington” on WJLA-TV.
South Dakota Public Broadcasting announced that due to a Friends of SDPB fundraising campaign, it will be able to retain 7 of the 15 positions that had previously been identified for layoffs following federal budget cuts. SDPB says it will be able to offer more state news coverage during “Morning Edition,” among other moves.
Civic Media announced the hiring of new reporters Isabela Nieto in Wausau, Maddie Schaffer in Hayward, and Connie Fellman in Green Bay (Fellman’s hiring was previously reported here).
RadioInsight reports that, after 35 years at Saga’s “Star 102.5” (KSTZ Des Moines), Jimmy Wright is moving to sister KIOA/93.3. Wright is swapping on-air roles with Leigh McNabb, who moves from KIOA to KSTZ.
The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association notes that $42,000 has been raised for radio host Patti Cavanaugh, who lost everything in a fire. Cavanaugh hosts middays at “Wisconsin 106” (WCWI Adams).
ABC affiliates have been off YouTube TV since Oct. 31 amid a dispute between the network and the streaming TV provider. ABC negotiates carriage with YouTube’s paid service for all of its affiliates, leaving non-O&O stations in the awkward situation of being impacted by a dispute in which they are not directly involved. For example, Hubbard’s KSTP-TV/5 (St. Paul) wrote, “We hope that Disney and Google will quickly conclude a successful negotiation.”
Gray Media NBC affiliate WMTV/15 (Madison) was presented with Emmy Awards for best evening and morning newscast at the Nov. 1 regional ceremony in Chicago. This reporter humbly acknowledges that his name was included on the entry for best evening newscast as co-producer but recalls that the other co-producer, Eliana Schreiber, did most of the work on that breaking news day.
All-Christmas update: The Upper Midwest has seen the launch of nine All-Christmas stations in the first several days of November, which, as noted previously, is a slower pace than last year. One notable flip is “B97-3” (WRNW Milwaukee) following its recent switch to Adult Contemporary; NorthPine.com records show the frequency last flipped to All-Christmas in 2003 when it was AC as WLTQ.
In case you missed it here:
- Midwest Swaps KELO-FM, “Q” Branding in Sioux Falls
- Early 2025 Radio Flips to Christmas Music Lag Behind Last Year
- Broadcast History: When AM Stations Moved to the Expanded Band
- FCC Monitor: Plan Advances to Drop ATSC 1.0 Simulcast Requirement
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