Your WBA was honored to recently host a gathering of state broadcasters association executives from states across the upper Midwest. Representatives from 11 other states visited Madison for three days of meetings and enjoying the city.
These gatherings are always tremendously useful events for your WBA to learn from how other state broadcaster associations serve their members. There was a lot of terrific sharing going on and everyone certainly went home with new ideas to pursue.
Your WBA also met recently with Congressman Mike Gallagher and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr during a visit to Green Bay. WLUK-TV was gracious enough to host a group of your fellow broadcasters to meet with Gallagher and Carr to discuss issues like AM radio, FCC issues, and, of course, how broadcasters serve their local communities.
It was an excellent meeting! Thank you to those local broadcasters who joined us and represented their peers in these important conversations.
You asked and we listened. Your WBA is working with some post-secondary schools in Wisconsin to help with filling the hiring pipeline with broadcast engineers. There’s still work to be done behind the scenes but watch these pages in the coming months for exciting news on this front! As a teaser, here’s a picture from a recent meeting we had at UW-Oshkosh.
Here you will find an article about our first MIW mentee, Jen Kasper from QueenB Radio in Platteville. We’re so excited to be the second state to launch this mentorship. We had an incredible list of applicants for this first round and we’re excited to bring it back annually. Congrats to Jen and we look forward to working with her on this mentorship.
In the next step of our ongoing strategic plan initiative, a group of your fellow members recently met with the selected marketing firm to brainstorm ideas for a campaign to tout local broadcasting to Wisconsinites, remind them that local broadcasters are trusted sources of news and information, and encourage young Wisconsinites to consider careers in broadcasting. As you’ll recall, this is part of an effort that started last fall. There’s more work to be done on this project, but something else to be watching for soon from your WBA.
Finally, we’re so proud of our award-winning Broadcasters Clinic coming up this Oct. 10-12. The Clinic Committee has put together an amazing agenda for these three days of education and networking.
Please be sure to send your engineers and consider joining us for the opening reception on the afternoon of Oct. 10 at the Madison Marriott West. Attendance is noticed and your support is greatly appreciated.
We always say, “It’s never boring” at your WBA. As you can see, that’s as true now as it’s ever been. We’re proud to serve you. Keep up the great work serving your fellow Wisconsinites!
Michelle Vetterkind
WBA President and CEO
