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Grand Rapids Press:
For most of this state, Thanksgiving traditions usually include football and Detroit. For Bret Bakita, the holiday weekend has little to do with the Lions, and everything to do with high school football. For the 15th consecutive year, Bakita will anchor coverage of the state finals at Ford Field for WBBL-AM (1340), along with co-host Brett Muller. "It will be a busy couple of days," Bakita said. "On Friday, my mother will go on a shopping trip with my wife, and my dad and I will watch the football." The radio station's playoff coverage continues at 6:30 tonight with the West Catholic-Muskegon Oakridge game that will be simulcast on WBBL and Muskegon's WEFG-FM (97.5), "The Champ." WBBL also will stream games live online and, for the first time, archive audio and make it available for download on its Web site... WBBL's Bakita gears up for prep football finals (Fri, 11/7)
NPR White House Correspondent to visit Grand Rapids
Michigan Radio (WUOM FM 91.7 Ann Arbor / WVGR FM 104.1 Grand Rapids / WFUM FM 91.1 Flint) and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum will welcome NPR White House correspondent Don Gonyea to Grand Rapids, on Monday, November 17th, at 7:00 pm. Gonyea will speak about his experiences covering the White House as well as his time on the campaign trail with President-elect Barack Obama.
Gonyea has been reporting for NPR for over twenty years. A Michigan native, he was NPR's Detroit correspondent until 2001, when he took over the White House beat. Since then, he has reported on all aspects of the George W. Bush presidency, including the events of September 11th, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gonyea has also spent expensive time traveling with President Bush, and has filed stories from around the globe, including Moscow, Beijing, London, Islamabad, Budapest, Seoul, San Salvador, and Hanoi. He has also covered the presidential campaigns of John Kerry, John McCain, and most recently Barack Obama, while chronicling the 2000, 2004, and 2008 elections.
In addition to his reporting for NPR, Gonyea has been a contributor to PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, the BBC, CBC, AP Radio and the Columbia Journalism Review. In 2000, he was part of a team that earned NPR a George Foster Peabody Award--broadcasting's highest honor--for "Lost & Found Sound," a series on All Things Considered. A native of Monroe, Michigan, Gonyea is a graduate of Michigan State University, and a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan.
Gonyea will speak at the Gerald R. Ford Museum, at 303 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI on Monday, November 17th, at 7:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required due to space limitations. More information about this event and registration is available at www.michiganradio.org.
