People
Longtime Upper Midwest and national radio host Ian Punnett died on Dec. 21 at age 63 of a genetic liver disorder, according to The Mercury of Manhattan, KS. Punnett’s death was first reported by Coast to Coast AM, where he had served as a host since 2000. His radio resume includes WXLP/96.9 (Moline-Quad Cities) and stops in Nashville, Chicago, and Atlanta before mornings with his wife, Margery, on “My Talk 107” (KTMY/107.1 Coon Rapids-Minneapolis-St. Paul) from 2002 to 2012. More recently, Punnett served on the faculty of K-State’s A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication and was inducted into the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in October.
Longtime radio host and marketing consultant Pat Ebertz died in his sleep on Dec. 26 at the age of 59 (this item has been corrected since the initial posting). His obituary says Ebertz got his start in radio in his hometown of Jamestown, ND, at the age of 14 and worked in Grand Forks, Phoenix, and St. Cloud before co-hosting mornings on KDWB/101.3 in the 1990s and early 2000s. After his time on air, Ebertz continued in the industry as a marketing consultant. Services are scheduled for Jan. 4, 2024, in Sauk Rapids.
Clay Masters announced that he has left Iowa Public Radio, where he was Morning Edition host and political reporter, for a new job with Minnesota Public Radio as a senior politics reporter.
Stations and companies
Gray TV announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to renew all of its NBC affiliations, which were otherwise due to expire at the end of the year. Gray has NBC affiliates in 56 markets including Bismarck/Minot, Davenport, Duluth, Eau Claire, Fargo, Madison, Mankato, Marquette, North Platte, Omaha, Ottumwa, Rochester, Scottsbluff, Sioux City, and Sioux Falls.
Earlier in December, Gray’s WMTV/15.1 (Madison) changed its branding from NBC15 News to WMTV 15 News and Gray’s KNOP/2.1 (North Platte) switched from NBC Nebraska to News 2.
With Circle TV leaving the air nationally at the end of the year, Gray’s WSAW (Wausau) announced that its channel 7.6 will switch to the new Outlaw network.
Tegna’s Twist network is also leaving the air nationally. So far, listings indicate Tegna stations in the region have replaced Twist with simulcasts of networks already available on other subchannels.
Variety reported on TV network ratings for 2023, listing digital subchannel Grit as one of the fastest-growing networks. The “big four” networks take up the top four spots, with other broadcast networks then sprinkled among cable channels.
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Disclosure: Jon Ellis is an employee of Gray Media Group. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.