The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association
Foundation contribution to broadcasting in Wisconsin
encompasses a strategic, long term vision for enhancing,
promoting and supporting the broadcast industry by
encouraging the preservation of broadcast history,
participating in public affairs activities in the State
of Wisconsin and providing educational opportunities for
professional broadcasters and those who seek future
careers in the broadcast industry.
The R. Perry Kidder Broadcast News Resource
Center, an online resource tool for broadcast
news directors, reporters, producers and
photographers in Wisconsin, launched on August
3. See it live at
http://www.kidderbnrc.org or click on the
Kidder News Resource Center on the Table of
Contents at the left.
The Kidder News Resource Center, believed to be
the first such site organized specifically for
one State’s news personnel, has four main
sections. The Media Law section features
material on Open Meetings and Open Records in
Wisconsin, Cameras in Wisconsin Courtrooms,
Media Access inWisconsin, as well as legal
citations, court decisions and legal
interpretations of the laws and rules Governing
those matters. The On Wisconsin section provides
background on matters related specifically to
the State of Wisconsin such as a Pronouncing
Gazetteer of Wisconsin names and place names,
the State’s tax system, its election process,
and State Legislative and Court System
overviews. The Useful Links Section has
click-through links to State Government sites
and other resource sites. The Tips From the Pros
section includes tips for writing for radio and
television news, interviewing techniques,
stand-up and live reporting tips, photography
tips and section for News Directors on making
“tough calls” and the ethics that are sometimes
involved.
Development of the Kidder News Resource Center began in January, 2009.
Content for the Center was written by Tim
Morrissey, a 30year veteran Wisconsin broadcast
news reporter. The new website was designed and
developed by WBA Foundation web manager, Susan
Lewandowski. The Project was managed and the
content edited by WBA Foundation President and
CEO, John Laabs.
The R. Perry Kidder News Resource center has
been underwritten by a generous grant from Perry
Kidder, General Manager of WFRV-TV, Green Bay
who is a Past Board Chairman of the Wisconsin
Broadcasters Association and a current member of
the WBA Foundation
Educational
Support Grants Total $10,120 in 2009
The WBA Foundation has awarded 6 grants
totaling $10,119.35 under its Educational
Support Grants Program for 2009. The grants were
made at the Foundation’s June Board meeting and
went to the following Wisconsin schools:
UW-Oshkosh ($3,849.35) to purchase
a studio production software and licenses.
UW-Green Bay ($2,000) to provide
matching funds for purchase of high definition
television camera.
UW-River Falls ($2,730) to
purchase 3 digital video news kits
Cardinal Stritch University
($690) to purchase production music and a sound
effects library.
Lakeland College/WLKL-FM ($850)
to provide matching toward the purchase of a
remote broadcast mixer.
The WBA Foundation’s Broadcast Engineers
Education Pilot Project, approved in September
2008, has awarded 4 fellowship grants and 3
summer internships for 2009.
The Engineering Fellowship Grants were awarded
to Dennis Baldridge, Steve Brown, Kevin Odgers
and Fred Sperry. Baldridge attended HD Radio
Technology training at Harris. Fred Sperry is
attending Inacom’s Network + Course. Steve Brown
is attending Broadcast Electronics Audio VAULT
University and Kevin Odgers is attending a class
on Micro Hardware.
The summer internships, which provide a $2,500
stipend to prospective engineers for a two month
internship, were created at the radio stations
of Cumulus in Oshkosh, at WSAW TV and at
Wisconsin Public Radio.
The Engineers Education Initiative runs from
October, 2008, through September, 2009.
Walker
Management Institute Grads Set Record
The WBA Foundation’s 2009 Walker Management
Institute, in its 12th year, registered 21 with
14 graduates from the 3-year program, the
largest graduating class in its history. The
Institute was held on May 12 -14 in Madison.
The Walker Institute was established in 1998 to
provide broadcast general managers, middle
managers and future managers, an in depth
management training experience at an affordable
cost. It was designed as a 3-year program, with
nine one day training modules, three each year,
sequenced so that participants can start the
three year cycle at any time. The curriculum
covers areas of basic and advanced broadcast
finance, personnel management and general
management.
The WBA Foundation Board has extended its
support of two education programs it began in
the 2007-08 school year: The RMP Training
Program and WBACollegeNewsNet.
The RMP Training Program is a program designed
to train non-broadcast professionals as radio
marketing professionals. The Program, developed
and implemented in conjunction with the Radio
Advertising Bureau (RAB), is designed to provide
2 days of training in radio sales and marketing
for interested persons followed by the
administration of a Radio Marketing
Professionals examination. The RAB then grades
the exams and those who achieve a passing grade
receive their certificate as Radio Marketing
Professionals.
Four RMP Training modules were presented in the
2008-09 on the campuses of UW-River Falls, Uw-Madison,
UW-Stevens Point, UW-Green Bay and the North
Central Technical College in Wausau. In all 75
persons participated and 74 new Radio Marketing
Professionals were certified, bringing the 3
year total of certified RMPs under the program
to 157. The RMP Training Program is managed and
presented by the Chairman of the WBA Education
Committee, retired broadcast educator, Ken Beno,
under a stipend provided by the WBA Foundation.
WBACollegeNewsNet is a unique program which
provides the opportunity to college broadcasting
students to share the news stories the do for
their campus radio stations or webcasts.
In the 2008-09 school year it had a total of 11
campuses sign up to participate and through the
course of the year over 25 stories were posted
for airing by network stations. The network is
managed by a student Executive Producer who is
provided a stipend by the WBA Foundation and the
project is overseen by Cardinal Stritch
University instructor, Maryann Lazarski. The
student Executive Producer in the 2008-09 school
year was Nate Lisko, UW-Milwaukee. She will be
succeeded by Rusty Schultz for the 2009-10
school year. Schultz is a student at Ripon
College and the General Manager of WRPN-FM on
the Ripon College Campus.
WBA Foundation Awards 2009 Scholarship
Winners
Alex Dufek
Madeline Nordholm
Y Mae Sussman
Daniel VanDenEng
A total of four WBA Foundation scholarship
awards were presented on March 7 at the 2009 WBA
Student Seminar. This year’s winners were:
Daniel VanDenEng, Y Mae Sussman, Madeline
Nordholm, and Alex Dufek. Daniel VanDenEng, UW
Oshkosh, received the $2,000 WBA Foundation
Scholarship; Y Mae Sussman was named the Morgan
Murphy Scholar and received a $2,000
Scholarship; Madeline Nordholm, UW-Madison,
received the $1,000 Howard Gernetzke
Scholarship; and Alex Dufek, William Allen White
School of Journalism at the University of Kansas
was named the Results Broadcasting Scholar and
received a $1,000 Scholarship.
Staff
& Leadership
