Max McClellan was named EP of PBS News Weekend. He takes over for Rachel Wellford, who is planning to step away from journalism, according to a PBS News spokesperson.
McClellan most recently worked as senior EP of national investigations for Scripps News. His reporting unit won multiple national awards during his tenure, including an Emmy in the Outstanding Investigative News Coverage category this year for a report on the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Mich. That investigation and another on the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, were recognized this month as finalists for the 2025 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.
McClellan was also EP of Spotlight on America, an investigative news franchise he created whose programming aired on commercial stations. Before that, he held several roles with CBS, including as a producer for 60 Minutes and a White House producer for CBS Evening News.
“I’m honored and excited to be joining the PBS News team,” McClellan said in a news release. “It’s the gold standard of in-depth and trustworthy journalism, and I can’t wait to build on that tradition of excellence with my new colleagues at PBS News Weekend.”
Priska Neely announced that she will leave her position as managing editor of the Gulf States Newsroom next month.
The CPB-supported newsroom is a collaboration among Mississippi Public Broadcasting; WWNO in New Orleans; WBHM in Birmingham, Ala.; and WRKF in Baton Rouge, La. Neely has worked out of WBHM’s offices since starting the position in 2020.
“It’s a huge and hard decision and I literally cried in every conversation I had informing the team,” Neely said on LinkedIn. “But the time for a new chapter has come. I’ll be staying in my beloved Birmingham and moving into a new role where I’ll continue to support local journalists (I’ll share details on that soon!)”
Neely previously worked as a reporter and producer for Reveal. She has also worked as a senior reporter for KPCC in Los Angeles, an assistant producer for Weekend All Things Considered and an editorial assistant for NPR’s Talk of the Nation.
Technology
Aaron Read is leaving his position as engineering director for The Public’s Radio in Providence, R.I., to work full-time for his company L&R Broadcast Services, which he co-owns with Michael LeClair, former chief engineer for WBUR in Boston. Read, who will leave the station in February, joined The Public’s Radio in 2012. He has also been chief engineer for KCSB in Santa Barbara, Calif.; GM of WEOS in Geneva, N.Y; and a broadcast technician for WBUR. He formed his company last year.
Content
PBS Reno in Nevada hired Kayla Montano as broadcast content operator. Montano most recently worked as production assistant and audio operator for KTVN, the CBS affiliate in Reno. “I couldn’t be happier to be joining the PBS Reno team,” said Montano in a news release. “I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge of public media and the educational services PBS Reno provides to our community all while furthering my career. Everyone has been warm and wonderful in welcoming me into my full-time position.”
Caroline Llanes was hired as a rural climate reporter for Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a coalition of more than 20 noncommercial stations in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Llanes most recently worked as a local government reporter for Aspen Public Radio and also covered climate and environmental issues for the station. “Climate and the environment is at the core of pretty much all of my reporting, because it’s an issue that intersects with nearly every other issue in our lives,” Llanes said in a news release. “That includes where and how we build affordable and attainable housing, how we plan our cities and transit, and the impacts on our most marginalized and vulnerable members of our communities.” Llanes’ position is funded by a one-year grant from the Rural Climate Partnership in collaboration with the Colorado Media Project.
Alex Burke announced that she left her position as content director for KVPR in Fresno, Calif. Burke joined the station in 2021 after working as an underwriting account executive for KAZU in Pacific Grove, Calif. “It was a hard decision to leave behind my fantastic colleagues, but I think the right one for me,” she said on LinkedIn, adding that she’s moving to the Bay Area to look for work. “In the meantime, I’m open to project-based jobs and consulting (remote or in CA). I know there are dozens (hundreds?) of small stations out there that need help with … everything.”
Alana Watson was promoted to collaboration and content manager for WKU Public Media in Bowling Green, Ky. Watson will be responsible for digital content development and distribution, with a focus on student-produced initiatives. She joined WKU Public Radio in 2020 as an economics and infrastructure reporter for the Ohio Valley ReSource and was a Charles M. Anderson fellow. She most recently worked as All Things Considered host and student reporting and producing specialist. “It’s been an absolute joy and privilege to see Alana earn this new role,” said WKU Public Radio News Director Kevin Willis in a news release. “She’s uniquely qualified to bridge some of the gaps we have between news content, development, and other areas of public media. Her experience as a reporter, host, and classroom instructor give her the insight and experience to make improvements that benefit our audiences, students, and staff.”
Fellowships
The Poynter Institute included six public media journalists in the cohort for its Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom Leaders seminars. The program will convene later this year at Poynter’s headquarters in St. Petersburg, Fla., for a five-day in-person workshop that “will focus on the critical skills that new managers need to help forge successful paths to leadership,” according to a news release. The public media participants are Maggie Goodhall, operations manager of Team Atlas for NPR; Erin Keever, EP of Due South at WUNC in Chapel Hill, N.C.; Dean Knetter, EP of Wisconsin Today at Wisconsin Public Radio; Tyler Pratt, deputy managing editor of the Gulf States Newsroom; Stephanie Sigafoos, managing producer at Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, Pa.; and Claire Stremple, managing editor at KTOO Public Media in Juneau, Alaska.
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