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Broadcasters collect their WBA Awards for Excellence
Radio and television stations from across Wisconsin came together Saturday to celebrate their award-winning work at the 2026 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Awards Gala. The awards were handed out at the Madison Marriott West in Middleton with 350 in attendance. Competition for this year’s awards was as strong as ever with 1,322 award entries. A total…
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WBA Foundation announces date for gubernatorial debate
The WBA Foundation Board will continue its 36-year tradition of holding statewide televised debates for Wisconsin’s voters by airing a general election debate in the 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial race. Qualifying gubernatorial candidates will be invited to participate in a debate on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m., hosted by Milwaukee PBS. Radio and television stations from…
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4 to be inducted into WBA Hall of Fame in June
The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation is proud to announce the 2026 WBA Hall of Fame inductees: Dave Magnum has turned a network of radio stations into a second generation legacy in Wisconsin. Kelly Radandt’s broadcasting career reflects a rare blend of strategic leadership, compassion, and unwavering dedication to people and community. Jeff Tyler’s career stands…
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4 to be honored as Local Broadcast Legends
Four Wisconsin broadcasters are 2026 WBA Local Broadcast Legends. Randy Allen, an on-air presence with deep knowledge of country music and unwavering professionalism which has made him a trusted companion to listeners throughout the Green Bay, Appleton, and Oshkosh markets. Dave Luczak, the voice Milwaukee woke up to, becoming one of the most trusted and enduring…
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WBA 75th anniversary Summer Conference agenda released
The preliminary agenda is now available for your WBA’s Summer Conference celebration of the association’s 75th anniversary will be held June 17-18 at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva. Registration is also open. The registration deadline is May 28. The hotel booking deadline is May 25. Speakers for this year’s conference include: Keynote: Curtis…
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Weekly Radio Addresses promote proposals on AG communities, unemployment insurance
This week’s Weekly Radio Addresses from Wisconsin’s Capitol discuss proposed investments in AG communities and changes to the state’s unemployment insurance system. These addresses are available for Wisconsin broadcasters to use as they see fit. Here are the summaries from WisPolitics: — In this week’s Democratic radio address, Gov. Tony Evers talked about a new…
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WBA staff celebrates anniversaries
Three WBA staff members recently marked service anniversaries. Michelle Vetterkind, President and CEO 26 years on Aug. 28 Liz Boyd, NCSA/PEP Coordinator 16 years on July 19 Kyle Geissler, Director of Operations and Public Affairs 4 years on Sept. 5 Congratulations and thank you for your service to the WBA.
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Sen. Baldwin joins Local Journalism Sustainability Act, Broadcast VOICES
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin is cosponsoring two bills aimed at supporting local journalism and expanding diversity in broadcast station ownership. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act supports local journalism, both broadcast and print, by providing tax credits for the hiring and retention of journalists. It also allows certain small businesses to claim a tax credit for…
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Plan now to enjoy WBA awards success
Greetings from the Awards Committee! We hope you had an enjoyable summer and have stashed away some copies of your best work in preparation for the January awards deadline. Oh, you haven’t? As we dove into our list of last year’s disqualifications, here’s a statistic you may find interesting: Nearly 33 percent of 2020’s entries…
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Getting outside broadcast bubble
One of the lasting impacts of the pandemic is the shift in the way Americans live their lives. “Work from home” used to be a perk companies offered on occasion to their employees. Today, it’s almost an expectation. The result is this has changed the way people consume entertainment, and as a result, has to…
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Radandt, Lancaster join Legacy Club
Two WBA members are joining the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation’s Legacy Club. Kelly Radandt, the general manager at Woodward Radio Group in Appleton and Al Lancaster, the VP and general manager of WSAW in Wausau, were named to the Legacy Club this summer. The Legacy Club was formed in 1998 to provide a formal procedure…
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Nationwide EAS test successful in Wisconsin
On Aug. 11 at 1:20 p.m. CDT, FEMA conducted a nationwide EAS test. The Wisconsin EAS Network successfully distributed the test across the state. The only reports of a couple stations not receiving the test were due to poor reception on their EAS receivers. There were some reports of intelligible but sub-standard audio, which are…
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Photos provide important reminders
Perhaps it wasn’t noticeable, but in newsletters since the outbreak of the pandemic, we haven’t seen much of you. We love including photos in the newsletter from our events and station visits, because, well, who doesn’t like to see photos of your fellow broadcasters? Thankfully, many of you were gracious enough to share photos with…
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Weekly Radio Addresses focused on children, schools
This week’s Weekly Radio Addresses from Wisconsin’s Capitol discuss children and schools. These addresses are available for Wisconsin broadcasters to use as they see fit. Here are the summaries from WisPolitics: — In this week’s Republican radio address Rep. Jon Plumer praises a bill that would allocate at least $100 million in American Rescue Plan…
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Broadcasters should be ‘proud to serve’
Each year, Mike O’Brien and I team up at the Student Seminar for a session on advertising sales. The session provides a great introduction to radio and television sales and demonstrates how it impacts station operations. We also talk about the traits that are important in a broadcast salesperson…the salesperson DNA. Every year Mike uses…
