John Sutton left his position as VP of audiences and revenue for the Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corp., the parent organization of WESA and WYEP.
Sutton will be interim CCO at New England Public Media for the next year. He takes over for Maxie Jackson, who left the organization to lead Radio Milwaukee last year. “I left PCBC for this job and the opportunities it presents,” Sutton said in an email.
Sutton joined the Pittsburgh broadcaster in 2017 as GM and moved into the VP role in 2019.
Troy Mosley was hired as managing director of content for Maryland Public Television.
Mosley most recently worked for WETA in Washington, D.C., as a unit production manager for programs like Washington Week, The Black Church, Finding Your Roots and the airing of the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
He has also led production for BET and has freelance production credits for TNT, Fox Television, CBS Television, Disney-ABC Television Group and Showtime.
Chicago Public Media hired two staffers.
Sarah Darby became director of audience insights and will be working across WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times and the music station Vocalo. Darby most recently worked as a senior data analyst for the Washington Post. She was also a senior digital analyst for NPR and an audience engagement analyst for Cascade Public Media in Seattle.
Aditi Mukund joined the organization as senior data analyst. She previously worked as a data analyst for Protocol and the Daily Beast. In 2020 she was an audience insights intern for NPR and worked as a contrast analyst for NPR the following year.
Development
Shannon Strickland became grants officer for PBS Reno in Nevada. Strickland most recently taught English at the University of Nevada, where she graduated in December 2022 with a master’s degree in English with an emphasis on public engagement. “Having grown up watching the station, [Strickland] understands the mission and demonstrates great enthusiasm when speaking about PBS Reno,” said Emma Glenn, VP of development, in a news release. “Her passion for PBS Reno and our mission ties in with her excellent skillset and writing background, and makes her a wonderful addition to our staff.”
Content
Tim Mak, an investigative correspondent for NPR, announced on Twitter that he is leaving the network as part of its recent layoffs. Mak joined NPR in 2018 and was most recently based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Mak said on Twitter that he will go back to Ukraine to launch an email newsletter, “The Counteroffensive,” to cover the war between Russia and Ukraine. “Leaving a steady job at an established institution like NPR for an unproven venture is a big bet. It’s a bet that readers still care about the human toll that this war is taking,” he said. “It’s a bet that there are enough of you out there to support an ambitious project like this.” Mak, a former U.S. Army combat medic and EMT, previously worked as a senior correspondent for the Daily Beast and was also a breaking news and defense reporter for Politico.
Rachel Waldholz was hired as a climate editor for NPR. Waldholz most recently worked as a climate journalist for Gimlet Media’s podcast How to Save a Planet. Before that she worked as an energy reporter for Alaska Public Media in Anchorage, where she helped create the podcasts Midnight Oil and The Big Thaw. The NPR position is funded by a one-year grant, according to a staff memo from Chief Science Editor Andrea Kissack.
Cara Tallo announced on LinkedIn that she left her position as director of content management and training for NPR to earn a master’s degree in fine arts and do freelance work. “It’s a bittersweet moment, but my next chapter feels full of promise!,” she said. Tallo joined NPR in 2000 and has held several producer roles, including EP of All Things Considered.
Marlon Hyde announced on LinkedIn that he was hired as a business reporter for WABE in Atlanta. Hyde most recently worked as a Sunday Weekend Edition host for Vermont Public. He joined the Vermont station in 2021 as a news fellow.
Shawn Lucero joined Indie 102.3, a music station owned by Colorado Public Radio, as weekend afternoon host and promotions coordinator. Lucero most recently worked as host and PD for X1039 in Colorado Springs. She has also been PD for 101.5 K-Rock in Manhattan, Kan., and worked for 98KUPD in Phoenix and 94.3 KILO in Colorado Springs. “I appreciate the opportunities and growth I’ve had in my radio career so far,” said Lucero in a news release. “I look forward to working with such a great lineup of radio professionals at Indie 102.3 and to be a part of a station that is so fresh, diverse, music-centric and local.”
Carly Berlin will work as a Report for America journalist for Vermont Public and the nonprofit newsroom VTDigger. Berlin will cover “the availability, affordability and condition of housing, as well as aging infrastructure that is no longer serving its residents,” according to a news release. Berlin, a metro reporter for WWNO in New Orleans, starts the Report for America position in July.
Aubrey Wright will join Indiana Public Media in Bloomington as part of the Report for America initiative. Wright, who starts in July, will work as a multimedia journalist covering equity in higher education for WFIU/WTIU. She will graduate from The Ohio State University in May, where she has worked for the student newspaper as managing editor of content.
Governance
The Association of Public Radio Engineers elected new board officers during the annual Public Radio Engineering Conference in Las Vegas April 13 and 14. Scott Hanley, GM of jazz station WZUM in Pittsburgh, steps up from VP of the board to president. He succeeds Victoria St. John, director of operations and information technology for Vermont Public. Bill Dahlstrom, chief engineer for American Public Media Group, was named VP of the board and succeeded Hanley. Darrell McCalla, chief operator and engineer for WBHM in Birmingham, Ala., remains as secretary, while David Antoine, CTO for WBGO in Newark, N.J., was elected treasurer.
Awards
PBS President Paula Kerger and Sharon Rockefeller, CEO of WETA in Washington, D.C., joined the honorary committee for the fifth annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film. The award, which will be given in September, is supported by the Better Angels Society, the Library of Congress and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation. The organizations have given more than $1.45 million to filmmakers in cash awards since 2019.
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