Above: Participants at the Broadcast Career Builder Conference line up for opening keynote speaker, Doug "The Doc of Rock" Podell. 
It’s been a busy couple of weeks in Uncle Kernen Land...
In addition to our usual 9 to 5, Placement Director Kevin Seguin-Scollin and I put a full day in at the BCBC – the MABF’s annual Broadcast Career Builder Conference – at Lansing Community College on Saturday, October 27th.
Over 150 students and young professionals participated in this year’s event, which featured an inspiring opening keynote by my good friend, Doug “The Doc of Rock” Podell, and numerous breakout sessions on employment – from the new careers made possible by new technology, to not-so-obvious career choices, to learning how to market yourself successfully.
In addition, the event included a job fair featuring numerous employers and a thought-provoking closing keynote by Specs grad Ross Marroso (pictured above right).
Ross encouraged attendees to explore a number of opportunities within the entertainment industry rather than focus on a single one. As an airborne reporter for WDIV-TV (Channel 4), an independent filmmaker and co-owner of Motor City Movies, and a screenwriting instructor, it is advice he himself obviously practices. By the way, Ross has another screenwriting workshop coming up at Specs Howard in January. I'll keep you posted on the details!
If you missed the BCBC, get out your 2008 calendar and plan to attend the MAB’s Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference on March 10th and 11th. It too is a great place to network and gain information about radio and television. For more information on this and other MAB-related events, bookmark the MAB web site!
But that's not all! I told you it's been a busy few weeks...
Kevin and I took newly appointed placement advisor, Katie Peters, to an open house at WADL-TV (Channel 38). The three of us thank Kevin Adell and Louis Gibbs for their hospitality. They have a beautiful facility for their newly christened Urban TV and an equally gorgeous facility for sister station, The Word Network. We ran into many old friends and many grads on the tour and really enjoyed the great food!
Speaking of old grads -- and I mean really old grads -- I heard from Rick Staeb, who is now the general manager of a six-station cluster in Bellingham, Washington. The stations are owned by Saga Communications, who own over 90 radio stations and 9 television stations.
The picture below was taken at Saga’s annual managers meeting this year and in addition to Rick and yours truly is Debbie Chavez, the program director of KGMI, which was named “Station of the Year” by Saga’s management. Out of 90+ stations, that’s not bad.
I also took a trip to Toledo and re-connected with several grads that are some of the best-known talents in the market. It was great to have lunch with veteran anchor Lee Conklin of WTVG-TV (Channel 13), who has been the 6 & 11 anchor for some 16 years, and Fred Lefebvre, host of WSPD radio's morning show where he provides his listeners with "Freducation" every weekday.
I also re-connected with Kelly Brown, late of 89x and now the mid-day personality at WIOT-FM. Among the many features of her position, is that she not only lives in the same building as the station, her apartment is literally DOWN THE HALL ... from her studio! Wow.
I also got a chance to visit WTVG-TV and toured their beautiful facility courtesy of grad Matt Black, long-time operations director of this ABC owned station.
I also met with their news director, Brian Trauring, who like every other news executive I've met within the past several years, emphasized how hard it is to find ----- STUDENTS AND GRADS TAKE NOTE ----- news producers! As an example, he indicated he was flying in a potential candidate from California! Take a lesson!
Coming Up!
I attended the MCA-I Golden Casette Awards ceremony on Friday night. I will have a full report later this week. 'Til then -- uk
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
I was happy to see two of our favorite grads named in the annual Metro Times Best of Detroit issue. WDFN's Sean Baligian was voted "Best Radio Sports Talk Show Host" by the newspaper's readers, and credited under "Best Reason to Turn on the Radio During the Day" was recently returned host of WDET's Detroit Today, Craig Fahle. I was also glad that their news director, Jerome Vaughn, was given well-deserved credit too even if he's not a grad -- but a really good friend!
My sincere congratulations also go to grad Ian Douglass on his recent promotion to Deputy Press Secretary and Appointments Director for Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, Andy Dillon. In addition, Ian hosts talk shows for the democratic party.
It was great to be visited by grad Jennifer Freel (pictured left with yours truly) in from the west coast to visit her dad, who accompanied her on a tour of our facility. Jennifer handles e-commerce operations for Universal Music in Universal City, California and also happens to teach part-time at a school for broadcasters.
After working for Cumulus Broadcasting in Toledo for many years as an air talent and music director, grad Mike McIntyre has been promoted to program/music director and PM
drive host at the company's brand new classic hits station, 97.1-WRQQ, in Nashville. If Mike's name sounds familiar, in addition to working in Toledo, Mike also spent many weekend air shifts at WRIF and WYCD over the years. I don't expect he'll be making the commute from Nashville! Congrats, Mike!
Last but certainly not least, I think it's time to recognize graduates of our long discontinued electronics program. Although the school no longer offers an electronics program, I have kept in touch with a number of grads through the years and feel they should still get recognition from their alma mater. I'm going to try real hard not to miss anyone, but I'm probably destined to fail so please accept my apologies and feel free to let me know so I can do a make-good for you. So in no particular order:
• Ralph Hunt: Chief Engineer for WWJ, WXYT & WKRK
• Ross Lusk: Chief Engineer for WVMV, WOMC & WYCD
• Chris Arnaut : Chief Engineer for WJR, WDVD, WDRQ and was recently hired by WDIV-TV
• Mike Kernen: Chief Engineer for WRIF, WMGC & WCSX (and yes, he's my nephew)
• Malloy Farley: Chief Engineer for WDET-FM
• Randy Auerbach: Chief Engineer for WDFN, WMXD, WJLB, WKQI, WDTW & WNIC
• Dave Sapp: Chief Engineer at WDMK, WHTD & WCHB
• Hal Buttermore: Regional Chief Engineer for CBS
These were taken from the RADIO Book and may be out-dated, but it's still an impressive list. If anyone would like to send me an update, I'd appreciate it.
Trick or treat! ~UK
Hey, all! I’m baaaaaaaack, which is kind of funny because I actually didn’t go anywhere. My editor, however, was whooping it up on vacation after two weeks of intense budget planning so I apologize for my absence!
KUDOS TO WGRD
First off, I’d like to give a big shout out to WGRD. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the latest Arbitron show them at #2! A lot of the credit has to go to the morning show Free Beer & Hot Wings and of course, Program Director J.T. (after all, he's a grad).
MABF's BROADCASTING CAREER BUILDERS CONFERENCE
In related news, WGRD’s morning show producer, Joe G., has agreed to take part in the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation’s upcoming Broadcasting Career Builders Conference to take place on Saturday, October 27 at the west campus of Lansing Community College.
This is a “must attend” for anyone pursuing a career in radio or television. The opening keynote speaker will be "The Doc of Rock" Doug Podell, the program director and longtime air personality at WRIF 101 FM.
The closing keynote speaker will be Specs grad Ross Marosso, an airborne reporter for WDIV-TV and accomplished filmmaker.
There will also be a career fair featuring representatives of Michigan radio & TV who will discuss employment opportunities at their facilities. Visit this link for details and SAVE THE DATE!!!
I recently heard from grad Rob St. Mary, the news director at WOOD radio in Grand Rapids, who is finishing a documentary he started five years ago at his first radio job in Bad Axe, Michigan.
It's a fascinating story about the deep divisions, which occur in a small town called The Separation on State Street. (Thanks for the title correction, Rob!)
Also fascinating to me is the large number of film projects our grads have been involved in recently.
ELKO OR BUST?
A year ago, to the utter astonishment of our placement department, we were informed that two of our grads were hired three months apart at two different stations in Elko, Nevada. Huh?
We'd never heard of Elko and had to avail ourselves of a map to find it. Imagine my surprise to discover an article in Time magazine recently featuring numerous Presidential hopefuls campaigning in -- you guessed it – Elko, Nevada. I hope that Erin Coyle & Don (Bud) Burch had an exciting time covering them!
30 MINUTES AT DONER
On a recent visit to Doner Advertising, I discovered that grad Bill Julian was just hired after many years at GTN, joining grad Ken Warzebok in Doner’s production department. Bill asked me if there were any other grads working there, and to my knowledge, they were the only two.
He then took me on a tour of their facility and to our surprise; I ran into two more grads working in the edit suites! And I was only there for 30 minutes.
GRADS IN THE PRESS
Lastly, there was an inspiring article in a recent issue of the Toledo Free Press about two of our grads that live with disabilities.
If it seems at times that I’m a little impatient when it comes to excuses, it's because we've had students who have faced serious challenges – from child care issues to having to rely on Michigan’s terrible mass transit system – but still managed to have great attendance records and great grades.
We've also seen students with disabilities complete our program and pursue very successful careers.
The grads profiled in the article are Kim Devlin, a producer and traffic reporter for the Cumulus Radio Group in Toledo who lives with cerebral palsy, and Jim Snyder, an air personality at CKPC in Brantford, Ontario who is legally blind.
Both have had negative experiences with employers in the past because it was assumed that they would not be able to perform the jobs they'd applied for. But neither of them gave up seeking jobs in radio, and ultimately, they both found employers who believed more in their abilities than their disabilities.
As one of Jim’s previous PD said, "I overlooked Jim’s disability because he sounded great on the air and had great knowledge of radio.”
Kim’s current PD says "...he does a great job for us and does everything we ask of him.”
I couldn't finish this piece without mentioning Ron Bachman, a Specs grad and dear friend. Ron gets around on a scooter and is one of the most sought after motivational speakers in Michigan.
When you're familiar with the challenges faced by these folks, and how successfully they've dealt with them, excuses like “too busy”, “too tired”, or “I forgot” sound REALLY LAME!
GRAD RETURNS TO WDET
Specs grad Craig Fahle recently returned to WDET-FM from Charlotte, North Carolina to host the daily talk show, Detroit Today. I am very proud of him, and the fact that the station also employs several other grads in high profile positions.
Amy Miller anchors Morning Edition, Pat Batchellor anchors All Things Considered, Amanda LeClair co-produces Detroit Today, Barbara Smith works in the Development Department and Malloy Farley is Chief Engineer. I'm sure I've overlooked others, but needless to say, I’m very proud of all of them.
NOTES FROM GRADS
Ask and I did receive several updates from grads. In addition to the kind words provided by Craig Fahle below, we've posted several others worth a look on the Specs Howard website. Check out Happy Trails for more exciting news from our grads!
Dick...You should be proud. Going to Specs was the best decision (outside of marrying my more than patient wife) that I have made. As someone that has been responsible for making some hiring decisions down here in Charlotte, I can't tell you how many applicants lack basic radio skills. They may be great journalists, but I don't always have time to train them in the ways of production and board operation. One thing I try to do for all of my interns is to make sure they have SOME training in this area before they leave us. More than one has called me later to thank me, since they were chosen for a job because they had skills other applicants didn't. I am a happy advocate for the school. I'll talk to you soon! --Craig
Until next week, folks!
I love my job. Our grads continue to give me reasons to get up in the morning. One of the many cool things about working at Specs Howard School is actually hearing or seeing grads interact with other grads on the radio or television.
Just recently, I caught an exchange on WDET 101.9 FM between Pat Batchellor and Rob Morrosi. Pat is WDET's afternoon news anchor and Ross is the media relations director for the Michigan Department of Transportation. Both are grads.
The two of them were talking about the numerous road construction projects underway in Southeast Michigan, and while I’m not a fan of road construction, I thought it was fantastic to hear them talk about it.
Speaking of roads, I was in Lansing visiting employers last week, including the Citadel group under good friend Rob Striker, and was able to re-connect with Brent Alberts, Chris Reynold and J.J. McCrae -- some of Michigan’s finest program directors (PDs).
I also dropped in to see WLNS-TV News Director, Phil Hendrix and topped off the visit at MacDonald Broadcasting to visit with GM Rick Sarata and Program Directors, Brant Johnson and Scott Loomis.
When I got back, I heard from grad Mike Wheeler. He has a new job as PD of 92.9-Dave FM in Atlanta. So he sends me a run-down of his air staff, and what to my wondering eyes doth appear, but Margot Smith! I haven't heard from her since she left WGRD in Grand Rapids ages ago. She's extraordinarily talented and I'm delighted she's doing well.
It was very cool to receive the latest newsletter from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and see that not one, but two of our favorite grads have been elected to the organization’s board of directors! Al Blinke, Vice President and General Manager of WNEM-TV in Saginaw, and Bob Peters, Vice President and General Manager of WCZY-FM in Mt. Pleasant, are highly respected members of our industry and I am extremely proud of them both.
The mayor of Houston, Texas, is apparently proud of one of our grads too. Roger Beatty graduated from Specs Howard School in 1979. He and his morning show partner, Dean, recently celebrated ten years on the air at classic rock station, KKRW.
To commemorate the occasion, April 27, 2007 was named "Dean & Rog Day," and the mayor presented them with an official proclamation during their live broadcast at Houston’s Hard Rock Café. Roger and Dean have been a morning team for 20 years after getting together at WIOG in Saginaw.
I’d like to offer my congratulations to Bob Daniels as he joins Blue Water Technologies as operations director. Blue Water does event staging, equipment sales and rentals, and other hi-tech presentations. And last, but not least, I was really glad to hear that Joe Adams of MetroTraffic has joined Ross Marosso manning the Local 4 helicopter. Ross is WDIV's air borne news reporter and Joe is now their Morning Traffic person.
I think that's all for this one, folks. You've got to save me something to get up for tomorrow morning! Send me a line! Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens (center) was among the VIPs to attend a party for grad Roger Beatty (far right) and his morning show partner Dean (left) commemorating their 10th anniversary at the station.
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