Tara Gatewood is leaving her position as host and producer for Native America Calling, produced by KNBA in Anchorage, Alaska.
Gatewood (Isleta Pueblo/Diné) was hired as a director for the International Women’s Media Foundation. She will lead a multiyear initiative focused on violence against Native American women and girls, according to a news release.
Gatewood joined Native America Calling in 2005 as an associate producer. She will guest-host future episodes, according to a news release from Koahnic Broadcast Corporation, which owns KNBA and the program.
“Koahnic is deeply grateful for Tara’s years of work at Native America Calling,” Koahnic CEO Jaclyn Sallee said in a news release. “Her talent and expertise has been invaluable in creating this unique and meaningful program, and our nation is a better place because of the issues raised and discussed by Tara.”
KNBA News Director Tripp Crouse and Antonia Gonzales, an anchor and producer for Koahnic’s National Native News, will fill in for Gatewood. There will also be additional guest hosts, according to the news release.
The release also announced that Monica Braine, a senior producer, left Native America Calling to work for Amerind, an insurance company for Indian Country.
WNYC in New York City hired an editor, while three staffers left their roles at The Takeaway.
Stephanie Clary joins as deputy editor, a new position. She starts Aug. 30.
Clary is currently VP of digital entertainment at Vice. She has also been director of social publishing for CNN and managing editor for Mic. Before that, she held editor roles for NBC News and producer positions for the Seattle Times.
“I’m thrilled to join a newsroom that’s so essential to our city and region at a time when local news is diminishing in even the largest metropolis,” Clary said in a news release. “This role is an incredible opportunity to work on both audio and digital at an institution with such a deep and respected legacy, and such committed journalists.”
José Olivares, a former associate producer for The Takeaway, became a lead producer of podcasts for The Intercept. “So excited to be joining an organization and team I have admired for so long!” he said on Twitter. Olivares joined WNYC in 2018.
Polly Irungu, a digital content editor for The Takeaway who joined WNYC in 2018, told Current that she will start a three-month photo editor fellowship with The Intercept. She will also teach at the Parsons School of Design at The New School and the International Center of Photography. Irungu is the founder of Black Women Photographers, a community and online database.
Patricia Yacob, who also left the station, most recently worked as an associate producer.
Technology
Jason Price was promoted to director of technology for Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, the parent organization of WESA and WYEP. Price joined the organization in 2018 as IT manager. Additionally, Tom Hurley was promoted to engineer. Hurley has worked with the organization as a freelance audio engineer since 2012. He joined the staff full-time as operation and engineering technician in 2018.
Jayk Cherry, an audio engineer for 1A, produced by WAMU in Washington, D.C., left his position to become a music producer and engineer based in Los Angeles. Before WAMU, Cherry was a processing technician for the Recorded Sound Research Center at the Library of Congress. “I’m going to miss his steady presence, his humor, and his ridiculously excellent taste in music so much. All those times you found yourself grooving to our music beds… that was Jayk,” said 1A host Jennifer White on Twitter. “Jayk has already promised to come back and let us interview him when he wins his Grammy or Oscar. We’ll be waiting. Onward and upward, friend.”
Development
Alex Ackert-Smith left her position as a member engagement associate for CapRadio in Sacramento, Calif., to pursue a master’s degree at Cornell University. “The member engagement team is currently expanding, and we have added two new member engagement associates: Josefina De La Torre and Aileen Quinn,” said a CapRadio spokesperson. De La Torre most recently worked as a customer service representative for Avid Reader, and Quinn was an outreach and development manager at the Yoga Seed Collective.
Content
Miguel Macias announced that he joined NPR as a senior producer for All Things Considered. Macias previously worked as a supervising senior producer for Latino USA. Before that, he was an associate professor and deputy chair for graduate studies in the department of television and radio at Brooklyn College.
Rupa Shenoy will be Morning Edition host for WBUR in Boston. Shenoy starts in September and will succeed Bob Oakes, who is retiring. “This is a magnificent moment for WBUR. Bob Oakes, who has been an essential part of Greater Boston mornings for nearly three decades, is taking a well-deserved victory lap and passing the mic to Rupa,” said WBUR CEO Margaret Low in a news release. “She is a first class journalist and storyteller, with a wonderful on air presence. It is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for WBUR and for our devoted listeners.” Shenoy, a reporter and podcast host for The World, has also been a reporter for GBH in Boston and Minnesota Public Radio.
Kathleen McNerney announced that she’s leaving her role as senior producer and editor of Edify, WBUR’s education vertical. “Thank you [to] so many who shared their lives with me over the last 12 years,” she said on Twitter. McNerney joined WBUR in 2008 and held writer and producer positions for Morning Edition and Radio Boston.
Blaise Gainey was hired as a political reporter for Nashville Public Radio. He starts the job Aug. 16. Gainey most recently worked as a state government reporter for WFSU Public Media in Tallahassee, Fla. He was also an associate producer for the station. “My family and I are ecstatic about moving to Nashville and can’t wait to experience all four seasons and try Nashville’s hot chicken,” Gainey said in a news release. “I can’t wait to become fully immersed in Tennessee government and start relaying news to Middle Tennessee listeners about what’s taking place at the Capitol.”
Fellowships
The Association of Independents in Radio announced its 2021 New Voices Scholars, a five-month program starting in August. Cohort members with experience in public radio include Kristin Leong, a community engagement producer and project editor for KUOW Public Radio in Seattle; Ray Pang, a former content and development associate for PRX; Julia Rocha, an associate producer for Latino USA; Gustavo Sagrero, an intern for Boise State Public Radio in Idaho; Miranda Suarez, a reporter for KERA in Dallas; Angela Vang, a former intern for Code Switch and All Things Considered at NPR; and Rachel Yang, an associate producer for Minnesota Public Radio.
Governance
James Tanner began his term as board chair for WTCI in Chattanooga, Tenn. Tanner, who succeeds Don Jernigan, previously served as vice chair. Tanner is a lecturer in the department of communications for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He was also deputy director of communications and marketing at the McCallie School and held editor positions for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Daniel Fell, a senior strategist for the health services company Optum, succeeds Tanner as vice chair.
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Looks like the Takeaway is really struggling.