Jenny Northern was promoted to GM of ideastream’s three stations. She started in the role at the Cleveland broadcaster last month.
Northern has held several positions within ideastream, including station manager for both classical station WCLV and news station WCPN. She has also been a general sales manager for WCLV and was GM of WQRS in Detroit.
“Jenny is a fierce advocate for our listeners and viewers,” said Kevin Martin, ideastream president and CEO. “Her expertise, dedication and experience continue to greatly benefit ideastream as we execute our strategic plan and serve Northeast Ohio as one unified public media organization.”
Development
Greater Public promoted Andrew Leitch to VP of operations. He previously served as executive director of marketing and member experience. He has also been director of marketing and member station relations, program development manager and program coordinator. Ellen Guettler was also promoted to senior manager of content and projects. She previously served as content manager. She was also a producer for American Public Media in St. Paul, Minn., and worked as an editorial assistant for NPR. The promotions were effective Jan. 1.
Engagement
Erin McGregor was hired as an engagment strategist for the Association of Independents in Radio. Her first day was Jan. 21. She previously worked as a property marketing coordinator for PREIT, a retail investment company. She is also the host and creator of Queer Public, a narrative podcast about queer politics, identity and culture. In addition to her freelance work, she has worked for CKUT, the radio station for McGill University in Montreal.
Content
Kristin DiQuollo joined Fred Rogers Productions in Pittsburgh as supervising producer for the upcoming PBS Kids series Donkey Hodie. She reports to Chief Creative Officer Ellen Doherty. Prior to joining Fred Rogers Productions, DiQuollo was EP and story editor of Cyberchase, the PBS Kids series from WNET in New York. Fred Rogers Productions also promoted Micah Southwood to director of licensing. She joined the company in 2016 as licensing manager.
David Polk became the digital lead of content and strategy for American Masters, produced at WNET in New York. Polk started in the position in October and is in charge of an initiative to produce daily content as well as longer programs. Polk was previously PD at WFMT-FM in Chicago and was also an on-air talent at WTTW in Chicago. Polk worked as a producer, host, executive assistant and intern at WFMT and also a production assistant for Car Talk.
Angela Kocherga joined KTEP, licensed to the University of Texas at El Paso, as news director, effective Jan. 1. Kocherga is also joining El Paso Matters, a local news startup, as multimedia editor. Kocherga previously worked as a reporter covering immigration for the Albuquerque Journal in New Mexico. She has also been a reporter for the Dallas Morning News and WFAA, the ABC affiliate in Dallas, and was Mexico City bureau chief for KHOU-TV in Houston.
Five public TV hosts will serve as judges for the Create Crafts Challenge 2020, staged by the Create multicast channel. The winner will receive a cash prize and video production equipment and will produce a 10-part video series for Create. Contestants can submit video entries from March 2–30. Judges are Julie Fei-Fan Balzer (Make It Artsy), Eric Gorges (A Craftsman’s Legacy), Scott Phillips (The American Woodshop), Peggy Sagers (Fit2Stitch) and Lena Skvagerson (Knit and Crochet Now!).
Governance
The Public Media Venture Group expanded its board of directors from five members to seven with the election of Lisa Trapani Shumate and Bob Feinberg. Shumate is GM of Houston Public Media and associate VP of the University of Houston System. She also serves on PBS’ board. Feinberg is VP, general counsel and secretary of WNET in New York. He was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, as well as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. They will serve three-year terms.
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