Ernesto Aguilar was named executive director for the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.
Aguilar joined NFCB in 2016 as program director and was also a member of the organization’s board of directors. He previously worked as the news co-director and PD for KPFT in Houston.
He was also a fellow for the Maynard Institute, board president for the Foundation of the Alliance for Community Media and helped organize Public Media for All, a coalition led by public media staffers.
In an interview with NFCB CEO Sally Kane, Aguilar said he wants to help community radio stations “take a leap forward into new generations, new audiences, new communities, new conversations that we haven’t really had before,” adding that his priorities are news, programming and diversity, equity and inclusion.
WNYC in New York City announced new hosts for NPR’s weekday news shows.
Michael Hill was hired as local Morning Edition host. He replaces Richard Hake, a longtime host and reporter who died last year, and David Furst, who has been a regular host for the program for several months. Hill will leave his position as a correspondent for NJTV in Newark, N.J., but will continue to host Newark Today, a radio program on WBGO. He will also keep his position as a substitute anchor for PBS NewsHour Weekend, produced by WNET in New York.
In addition, Sean Carlson was promoted to local All Things Considered host. He replaces Jami Floyd, who was promoted last year to senior editor of the station’s race and justice unit. Carlson joined the station in 2015 as an evening/weekend host and also filled in for Morning Edition and The Takeaway. He previously worked as local All Things Considered host for Delaware Public Media and as a host and reporter for KRBD in Ketchikan, Alaska.
American Documentary, the production company behind the PBS series POV and America ReFramed for the World Channel, announced staff changes.
Robert Sayler was named an outreach specialist. Sayler previously worked as a producer for America ReFramed and was a co-producer for Portraits and Dreams, which premiered on POV last year. He has also worked as a filmmaker for Appalshop in Whitesburg, Ky., and was an instructor at the Appalachian Media Institute and Kentucky State University.
Lexi Bowers was promoted to development operations associate. Bowers joined AmDoc in 2019 as an intern. Andy Resichling, who also worked as an intern, was promoted to digital content associate.
Engineering
Travys Montague was promoted to chief engineer for Maryland Public Television. He replaces Carl Wolfe, who retired in December, according to a spokesperson. Wolfe joined MPT in 2002. Montague joined the station in 2006 and has worked as an assistant chief engineer. He previously worked as chief engineer for KTFQ, a Univision affiliate in Albuquerque, N.M. He was also an engineering supervisor for KBIM, a CBS affiliate in Roswell, N.M.
Content
Andi McDaniel announced on LinkedIn that she was named chief creative officer for City Cast, an upstart podcast network. McDaniel was previously slated to become CEO of Chicago Public Media but withdrew from the job last year. She previously worked as chief content officer at WAMU in Washington, D.C. In her LinkedIn post, McDaniel said City Cast hired three former public media employees. Sarah Menendez joined the organization as a project manager. Menendez previously worked as an intern, assistant producer and project specialist for Marketplace. Carrie Shepherd left WBEZ in Chicago to join the network as a lead producer. And Simone Alicea, who previously worked as a reporter and fill-in host for KNKX in Seattle, joined City Cast as a producer.
Soreath Hok was hired as a reporter for Valley Public Radio in Fresno, Calif. Hok previously worked as a producer in Northern California for KCRA and KSEE, both NBC affiliates, and KMPH, a Fox affiliate. She is also a partner and co-founder of Disrupt Marketing and has been a producer for Bukwild, a branding company.
Linda Diaz was hired as a co-host of Sound Field, a PBS Digital Studios series produced by Rewire, which is part of TPT in St. Paul, Minn. Diaz, a singer, is the winner of the 2020 Tiny Desk Concert for NPR and also performed a remote set in October. She replaced Nahre Sol, a pianist and composer who co-hosted the program with drummer L.A. Buckner in 2019–20.
Tanzina Vega, a host for The Takeaway, will expand her hosting duties to five days each week beginning March 5. As part of the change, the weekly program Politics with Amy Walter, produced by The Takeaway team, will end Feb. 26. Walter is a national editor for The Cook Political Report. She began hosting for WNYC in 2018 and has also been a panelist and analyst for PBS NewsHour since 2014.
Governance
Kellie Castruita Specter joined the board of directors for American Documentary. Specter is chief marketing and engagement officer for WNET in New York. She replaced WNET President and CEO Neal Shapiro, who “cycles off the board after fourteen years of service,” according to a news release. Specter joined WNET in 1998 and has also been director of communications and senior director of communications and marketing.
Fellowship
Paula Moura was selected as a reporting fellow for Frontline, produced by GBH in Boston, and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. During her yearlong fellowship, funded by the Tow Foundation, Moura will collaborate with Frontline journalists across platforms, including on online articles, documentaries and podcasts. Moura graduated from the Newmark School in 2018. She has worked as a reporter for WNYC in New York City, a producer for NPR’s Latino USA and as an assistant producer for Nashville Public Radio.
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