Joseph Tovares will leave his position this summer as VP, chief content and engagement officer for WMHT in Troy, N.Y.
Tovares, who joined the station in 2019, told Current he is developing a podcast for U.S. and Latin American audiences with Texas Public Radio and Sonoro Global Media.
Before joining WMHT, Tovares was CPB’s SVP, CCO and senior director of operations for television programming. He was also EP of La Plaza, which was a Latino production unit for GBH in Boston, and series editor and director of new media for American Experience.
Amy Tardif was hired as a Report for America regional manager.
Tardif will oversee a region that includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Tardif most recently worked as regional manager for StoryCorps in Chicago. She’s also an independent fact-checker for various podcasts, including Latino USA, NPR’s Believed and podcasts produced by Crooked Media and Michigan Radio. She was also an editor for the Public Media Journalist Association Editor Corps.
“I’m thrilled to join Report for America because it shares my values for replenishing the nation’s newsrooms, reporting on under-covered issues and communities, training reporters who reflect their audiences, and treating the profession as a successful public service,” Tardif said in a news release. “I’ve spent much of my career in public radio with an emphasis on coaching and mentoring journalists of color and uncovering truth. I’m excited to bring these experiences to Report for America to help its reporters and partner newsrooms make a difference.”
Development
Michael Jortner announced that he is leaving his role as B2B marketing manager for Market Enginuity to become a partner marketing manager for InStride, an education company. Jortner joined Market Enginuity in 2019 as a B2B marketing strategist. He previously worked as director of marketing and business development for WeHo Digital.
Human Resources
Talisha Reviere-Winston was hired as director of human resources and finance for Michigan Radio. Her first day with the station is June 7. Reviere-Winston most recently worked as chief administrator of the linguistics department and the Weinberg Institute for Cognitive Science at the University of Michigan. She has also been a grants administrator for the university and was a department manager for Michigan State University. “In addition to leading our business support team, Talisha will help us expand our presence and attention to our strategic initiatives in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion across our organization,” said Executive Director and GM Steve Schram in a news release.
Content
Bob Wilson was promoted to managing director of a new digital content and operations unit for Maryland Public Television. Wilson has worked for MPT since 2005 as EP of interactive media. He previously held director and manager positions for the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Virginia.
Andrea Bernstein and Ilya Marritz announced they are leaving WNYC in New York City to start an investigative podcast for Pineapple Street Media. Marritz and Bernstein previously worked as co-hosts of the podcast Trump, Inc., which was co-produced by the station and ProPublica. Bernstein joined the station in 1998 as a reporter and also held several editor positions and was political director for The Takeaway. Marritz rejoined the station in 2008 as a reporter and previously worked as an associate producer for WNYC. He was also an NPR producer for All Things Considered and the Bryant Park Project.
Vivian McCall announced that she joined KNKX in Seattle as an All Things Considered producer. She previously worked as a freelance reporter for Business Insider and WBEZ in Chicago.
Elliot C. Williams became an arts and culture reporter for WAMU/DCist in Washington, D.C. Williams joined the organization in 2019 as a staff writer. He previously worked as an assistant editor and editorial fellow for Washingtonian magazine. In addition, Lori McCue was promoted to breaking news editor. McCue previously worked as arts and food editor. She was also an editor for the now defunct Washington Post Express.
Marianna Bacallao was hired as an All Things Considered host for Nashville Public Radio. Bacallao, whose first day is June 7, succeeds Rachel Iacovone, who was promoted to digital editor. Bacallao previously worked as a morning host and general assignment reporter for WVIK in Quad Cities, Iowa. She was also an intern and fellow for Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Max Green, James Edwards and Lucie Sullivan, the team behind the Frontline Dispatch podcast, announced that they are leaving the program. Green, a producer and reporter, said on Twitter that the grant funding the podcast will end in July. Edwards was a producer, and Sullivan was a production assistant.
Fellowships
Miranda Mazariegos was selected as a Reflect America Fellow for NPR, according to a newsroom note from Chief Diversity Officer Keith Woods. Her first day is July 6. Mazariegos is a former multimedia producer and engagement fellow for Radio Ambulante. “We created the Reflect America Fellowship in 2019 to boost NPR’s efforts to expand the diversity of voices on air and online and to open a new pathway into public radio for young journalists,” Woods wrote. “Over the course of 12 months, the 2021-22 Fellow will work with shows, desks and podcasts, focusing on source diversity, and will finish with a reporting rotation on one of our desks.”
Three people in public media were selected as 2022 fellows with the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. The fellows who will participate for a year of on-campus study are:
- Jorge Caraballo Cordovez, a growth editor for NPR’s Radio Ambulante, who will develop a toolkit for narrative journalism podcasts in Latin America;
- Shereen Marisol Meraji, co-host and senior producer for NPR’s Code Switch, who will research ways public media can attract and retain Latino audiences;
- and Gabrielle Schonder, a producer and reporter for Frontline and the Kirk Documentary Group, who will study reporting methods for documentary filmmakers and examine the intersection of media, technology and policy to find ways to combat distrust and misinformation.
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