Michiguide.com: Michigan's Guide to Radio and Television Broadcasting

Crain's Detroit Business:

Detroit Public Television mined little-known family foundations as part of its strategy to close out its recent $22 million capital campaign. "In addition to the larger foundations, we had to go to the indigenous population of family foundations, largely unknown," said WTVS-Channel 56 board Chairman Richard Rassel, who is director of global client relations at Detroit-based law firm Butzel Long P.C. Clover Technology L.L.C. founder George Riley, whose family foundation committed $5 million to Channel 56 and sold it its new, production-ready headquarters in Wixom, "is typical of that family foundation donor base that we all need to look at more closely as we go forward in these challenging times," Rassel said... Detroit Public Television tapped all sources for capital campaign (Tue, 3/9)

Detroit Free Press:

Oscar night was a big deal for ABC, whose telecast of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards drew some encouraging numbers. The biggest night in movies, hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, drew 41.3 million total viewers to the Alphabet Network on Sunday. It was the largest audience since 2005, the year Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" was the big winner, according to the Nielsen folks. Locally, WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) also had its biggest Oscar numbers in five years. About 927,000 metro Detroit viewers tuned in to watch Kathryn Bigelow become the first woman to win the best director prize... Oscars draw big ratings (Tue, 3/9)

Toledo radio watchers wait for changes to AM 1560, FM 100.9

In a story that's been excruciatingly slow to finalize, there have been some recent developments in a station swap between religious broadcaster CSN and Cumulus Media. Moving from Cumulus to CSN is AM daytimer WTOD 1560, which will replace CSN's FM translator that was heard on FM 100.7. That translator is now off the air, but is expected back on the air soon at FM 100.9. There's no certainty among radio watchers in Toledo as to what Cumulus will be airing on the translator ... speculation is either it will become part of 'The Ticket' (FM 106.5 / AM 1470) or rebroadcast 106.5's HD2 'The Zone' alternative rock format.

88.1 WBFH's Randy Carr recognized

The Board of Education of the Bloomfield Hills School District presented Randy Carr with the Support Staff Recognition Award at their regular meeting March 4 at the Gary M. Doyle Center in Bloomfield Hills. Carr is the Assistant Station Manager and Technical Director of the school district radio station WBFH 88.1 FM, also known as The Biff.

Candidates for this award must be nominated by at least two individuals, citing the exceptional personal qualities and work characteristics that make the person an outstanding employee who has made positive contributions to the District.

Carr has been the Assistant Station Manager at WBFH for 10 years. Before that, he worked in commercial radio for 30 years as an air personality and broadcast engineer at the following stations: WYCD, WKQI, WCZY, WAAM, WTKA, WCAR, WCXI and WVMO.

Carr supervises the station from 1-9 p.m. each school day. During that time, he assists the radio students as they perform on the air during their shows. He assists students when recording productions which air on the station. As Technical Director, he makes sure the hardware and software are working properly.

As a member of the WBFH management team with Station Manager Pete Bowers and Program Director/Remote Supervisor Ron Wittebols, Carr has helped make The Biff a well respected program in the state and the nation. WBFH was recently named the Michigan Association of Broadcasters 2010 High School Station of the Year, the sixth time in eight years receiving that honor. WBFH also has been named the Best High School Station in a national competition three times in the last four years.

Winds of change blowing in South Bend market?

Are format changes on the radar in the South Bend / Benton Harbor area with rumors that Premiere Radio Networks' programs from names like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck might be moving from their area AM homes to an FM rocker which would then flip to talk?

Talk about these rumors by visiting the Michiguide.net Discussion Group forums.

Ironwood's WIMI broadens playlist

Upper Midwest Broadcasting reports that Hot AC WIMI FM 99.7 Ironwood has "moved to a broader Adult Contemporary format positioned as 'The Best Variety; following its sale to J&J Broadcasting" and rehired Uncle Al Rice for afternoons. J&J recently closed on its purchase of WIMI and sister station WJMS AM 590 from Baracuda Broadcasting.

The Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) presented Michael Gottlieb of Don-Lors Electronics and Will Tieman of TBC Sports/Spartan Sports Network with the organization's Associate of the Year Award. The presentation was made Wednesday, March 3 during the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference and Expo in Lansing. The award recognizes the significant contributions made by MAB associate members, and acknowledges their efforts in enhancing the quality and integrity of broadcasting while supporting their community.

• Michael Gottlieb, National Director of Sales and Marketing, Don-Lors Electronics, Livonia, Michigan

Michael Gottlieb grew up in Plymouth, MI where he graduated from Plymouth Canton High School. After attending Central Michigan University he went to work for E.F. Hutton as a Stockbroker and remained in investment business for over 15 years seeing several corporate mergers and acquisitions. He was promoted to several levels from Branch Manager to Vice President during that time before making the move to Don-Lors Electronics who specializes in all facets of commercial and residential satellite TV and communication, home and commercial theatre and A/V and Digital signage and advertising. As the National Director of Sales and Marketing, Michael is responsible for offices in 14 major markets throughout the country.

In 2008 Michael, and his company, teamed with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) to bring the most comprehensive DTV transition plan in the country. Through his dedication to the cause and the people of Michigan, Michael and Don-Lors Electronics opened their facilities and dedicated their staff to the first-ever Live DTV Helpline, assisting Michigan citizens with every facet of the digital television transition.

"Michael Gottlieb was a key player in the massive success of the 2009 transition to digital television," said Karole White, MAB President and CEO. "Michael offered his company's assistance and resources to bring the people of Michigan the first live-operator DTV call center in the nation."

• Will Tieman, President of TBC Sports/ Spartan Sports Network, Holt, Michigan

Will Tieman is in his 4th decade of broadcasting college football and basketball games. Within the state of Michigan he is most recognized as the voice for Coach Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartan basketball team. In addition to his broadcast work with MSU, Tieman has served as the voice of Miami University, the Big Ten Basketball Game of the Week and was lead announcer for Coach Eddie Robinson's Grambling State University Tigers national radio network.

His national network football bowl assignments have included The Citrus Bowl, The Motor City Bowl (now Little Caesars Pizza Bowl), the International Bowl and the Blue-Gray Game. He has anchored various television assignments and for 15 seasons in the month of May, Tieman provided national radio coverage from The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. During the course of a year over 250 radio stations around the nation air broadcasts he anchors.

For the past two years, Tieman and his crew received the Michigan Association of Broadcaster's "Best Network Play-By-Play" Award. Tieman is currently the President of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

"Will Tieman has been an extremely active and supportive associate member of the MAB," said White. "Mr. Tieman has provided countless opportunities for the MAB to build key external relationships and has given back to the broadcasting community by sharing his depth of knowledge on sports broadcasting with new and experienced broadcasters alike, by serving as a speaker and panelist at MAB events and as a guest columnist for the MAB newsletter."

The Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) has presented its most prestigious engineering award to a pair of Michigan broadcasters, who combined have served in the industry for nearly eight decades. The Carl Lee Broadcast Engineering Excellence Awards were presented during the Engineering Luncheon at the MAB's annual Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference and Expo which was held the Lansing Center, March 3 in Lansing.

The Carl E. Lee Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award winners are:

• Radio Winner: Ed Trombley, Field Engineer/RF Expert, Munn-Reese, Inc., Coldwater, Michigan

Ed Trombley is the Field Engineer and RF Expert Extraordinaire at Munn-Reese, Inc. He began his broadcasting career as a student at Lake Superior State College in the Electronic Engineering Technology program. Upon graduating, Ed worked as a contract engineer for several years at numerous stations across Lower Michigan. In 1984 Ed took on the position of Chief Engineer and Technical Director of Telecommunications at WSAE/KTGG at Spring Arbor College. After a decade of service at Spring Arbor College, Ed made to the move to Munn-Reese, Inc. in Coldwater, MI to work as a field engineer conquering the most complex of radio engineering issues. Since his move to Munn-Reese, Ed has become quite the engineering celebrity throughout the state known for his problem solving and uncanny way of communicating with the finickiest of machinery.

In addition to his professional work, Ed is known for his garage full of old broadcast parts and equipment supplying the local theatre with period props not to mention the numerous engineers who have been helped in a pinch because of his garage full of goodies. Ed is married to his lovely wife Mary and the couple has four children.

• Television Winner: John Grover, Chief Engineer, WADL-TV, Mount Clemens/Detroit, Michigan

John Grover is the Chief Engineer for Adell Broadcasting Corporation's WADL-TV. He has over 46 years of experience in broadcast engineering, 33 of which has been as a television station chief engineer. John began his broadcasting career in 1963 at WJIM as a staff engineer before a brief two-year stint as an engineer for World Wide Sports in Williamston, MI. He then became the Chief Engineer for WGPR, a radio and television licensee, in 1977 where he assemble a U-Matic auto logging sequencer for interstitial and program playback.

In 1988, John joined the Sinclair Broadcast Group in Flint as Chief Engineer at WSMH starting a local news operation. In addition, in 1992 John took on the extra duties of Chief Engineer at WADL-TV where he managed the operations and staffing of Master Control. In 2006, John opted to lighten his heavy work load retiring from WSMH-TV. John is still Chief Engineer at WADL-TV and is known for his positive, can-do sprit and outstanding work ethic.

Grand Rapids Press:

Emily Pearce, former morning-show co-host on WHTS-FM (105.3), is the new director of marketing for Clear Channel Radio in Grand Rapids and Muskegon. Pearce, who also worked with Regent Broadcasting, took over for Christy Mack on Jan. 14. Pearce earned a communications degree at Central Michigan University and has worked in local radio for several years... Broadcast notes: Job changes for Emily Pearce, Rob Brandt (Fri, 3/5)

Detroit News:

Carl Nielbock was a stranger in a new land. Listening to legendary radio personality Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg helped him persevere. The 24-year-old moved from Germany in 1984 to meet his father and connect with his African-American roots. Nielbock, whose mother is white and father is black, settled on the east side with his father. Their day began, like so many others in Detroit, by listening to Steinberg's radio show. "She was very inspirational. She eloquently explained the situation we find ourselves in," said Nielbock, 50. "She talked about how you can overcome problems and that you can make it despite all the adversity." Nielbock, an ironworks artisan, has worked since Steinberg's death in 2000 to honor her with a 16-foot statue on Belle Isle. He met with her daughters, Sandra and Trienere, last week to discuss efforts to raise $300,000 to complete the project... Building on legacy of Martha Jean 'The Queen' (Sat, 3/6)

AllAccess.com:

CLEAR CHANNEL Rhythmic AC WDTW (106.7 THE BEAT)/DETROIT has announced its 2010 SPRING BEATRAVE. The APRIL 24th show features STEVIE B., LISA LISA, C+C MUSIC FACTORY featuring FREEDOM WILLIAMS, ROB BASE, THE COVER GIRLS and SHANNON... BeatRave Set At 106.7 The Beat Of Detroit (Fri, 3/5)

• Larlen Communications was granted its license to cover for WDPW FM 91.9 Greenville. The station has reportedly been on the air with religious programming.

Michigan Radio named Public Radio Station of the Year

Michigan Radio, the public radio service from the University of Michigan, has been named Public Radio Station of the Year for 2009 by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB). The award was announced Wednesday evening at the MAB's annual Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference in Lansing. This is the eighth time in nine years that Michigan Radio has been named Public Radio Station of the Year.

The Station of the Year recognition is based on total points that a station receives in various judging categories. Michigan Radio was recognized as Station of the Year in Group 2, which is for public radio stations with more than $2 million budget.

In addition to the Station of the Year award, Michigan Radio received a total of fourteen Broadcast Excellence Awards, including eight Best in Category awards and six Merit awards.

• WRAX FM 98.9 was granted its license to cover; the station has remain silent through August, 2010. It is now licensed to Lake Isabella, having previously moved its construction permit from Walhalla in Mason County. It is licensed for 250 watts @ 49 feet. Should the station begin operations, it will cause a crowded frequency on 98.9 in the area as there is already a licensed LPFM (WQOS) on 98.9 in Mt. Pleasant, just miles east of the location of what would be WRAX in Isabella County.

The ratings for Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV-TV Ch. 4's news and Olympics broadcasts beat the top ten markets nationwide and the station won handily in early evening news at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., late news at 11 p.m., and primetime coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in the February 2010 Nielsen ratings period of the Detroit television market.

Local 4 News at 5 p.m. garnered an 8.3 household rating (RTG) and a 17 share (SHR) in the 5-6 p.m. time period (compared to WXYZ 6.7 RTG, 14 SHR and WJBK 5.2 RTG, 11 SHR). Local 4 News at 5 p.m. registered a significant growth of nearly 20% in household ratings over the previous year.

In the 6-6:30 p.m. time period, Local 4 News at 6 p.m. finished #1 in household ratings scoring a 10.1 household rating and an 19 share (compared to WXYZ 6.3 RTG, 12 SHR and WJBK 4.5 RTG, 9 SHR). In addition, Local 4 News at 6 p.m. won in the key demo market of adults ages 25-54. This signifies a 25% ratings growth over the previous year, while competitor WXYZ is down 6% household ratings year to year.

Local 4 News at 11 p.m., the perennial powerhouse of late news anchored by Carmen Harlan, Devin Scillian, Chuck Gaidica and Bernie Smilovitz, dominated all local newscasts with the highest ratings of news on any station, in any time-period. In February 2010, Local 4 News at 11 p.m. garnered a 10.3 household rating and a 19 share. (compared to WXYZ 7.4 RTG, 14 SHR, WJBK 10pm 7.8 RTG, 12 SHR, and WJBK 11pm M-F 4.9 RTG, 9 SHR). Local 4 News at 11 p.m. was the only late news to demonstrate growth, up another 17% in household ratings over the previous year. In addition, Local 4 News at 11 p.m. beat the late newscast of all NBC affiliates in the top 10 markets nationwide.

From the Opening Ceremony of 2010 Winter Olympics and throughout the 16 days of intense competition in Vancouver, WDIV averaged a 15.7 in household ratings and a 25 share (compared head-to-head to primetime programming on WXYZ 7.0 RTG, 11 SHR and WJBK 5.3 RTG, 8 SHR), up 35% in primetime household ratings and 39% in share over the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

On Friday, February 12, WDIV's broadcast of the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony garnered a 21.1 household rating (RTG) and an 34 share (SHR) in the 7:30 p.m.-12:15 a.m. time period, up 34% from the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing (15.7 HH RTG, 30 SHR), and up 76% in household rating from the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Turin (12.0 HH RTG, 20 SHR).

On Wednesday, February 17, as snowboarder Shaun White, speed skater Shani Davis and downhill skier Lindsey Vonn brought home Gold Medals for the U.S. team, WDIV garnered a 20.6 household rating and a 32 share, ranking #1 for household ratings over all NBC affiliates in the top ten markets nationwide.

In addition, on Sunday, February 28, while Team USA battled Team Canada, WDIV's broadcast of the Men's Hockey Gold Medal game finished just shy of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The WDIV programming lineup in other dayparts also fared well. The Ellen Degeneres Show (10-11 a.m.) was #1 and continues to lead in all key demographics. In the 4-5 p.m. time period, Local 4 News at 4 p.m. followed by Inside Edition with Deborah Norville virtually tied WXYZ's Oprah in households. And in the time period of 7-8 p.m., Wheel Of Fortune (11.2 HH RTG, 20 SHR) and Jeopardy (9.9 HH RTG, 17 SHR) are the top-rated shows, and continue to experience growth, up 14% in household ratings from the previous year.

Also in February, ClickOnDetroit.com, WDIV's local and national news, weather, sports and entertainment website, scored over 22.4 million page views, setting an all time record for page views in the month of February.