Fifteen graduates of the Walker Broadcast Management Institute got their briefcases this week as the Institute marked the end of its seventh three-year cycle.

The Institute is designed for broadcast managers and those seeking or being prepared for broadcast management positions. It’s held at the UW School of Business on the UW-Madison campus.

This year the students heard from Linda Gorchels on marketing and the future, Betsy Hagan on developing people around you, and Barry Callen on creativity. Steven Rick, the Chief Economist for CUNA Mutual Group, spoke at the graduation dinner at the Fluno Center.  … Read More

The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation is changing the date of one of the two televised debates for this year’s statewide primary races.

The primary debate between candidates in the Democratic gubernatorial primary will be held at NBC15 (WMTV-TV) in Madison on Friday, July 27 at 7 p.m. It was previously scheduled for July 13. The debate between candidates in the Republican U.S. Senate race is still scheduled for Saturday, July 21 at 7 p.m. at WSAW-TV in Wausau.

The hour-long debates will be offered to radio and television stations across the state for live or delayed broadcast.  … Read More

Veteran television debate moderator and WBA Hall of Fame inductee Jill Geisler will moderate a WBA Foundation debate for Republican primary candidates in the U.S. Senate race. The debate is scheduled for Saturday July 21 at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast from WSAW-TV.

Geisler holds the Bill Plante Chair in Leadership and Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago. She’s from Wisconsin and was one of the first female news directors of a major market affiliate when she was news director at WITI in Milwaukee. She’s an author and travels widely to conduct seminars for newsroom managers and leaders.  … Read More

The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation is expanding its election year tradition of hosting broadcast debates by adding debates for this year’s statewide primary races. The hour-long debates for the Democratic gubernatorial race and Republican U.S. Senate race will be offered to radio and television stations across the state for live or delayed broadcast.
 
“The high level of interest in this year’s elections prompted us to organize debates for the hotly-contested statewide primaries,” WBA Foundation President and CEO Michelle Vetterkind said. “We are proud that Wisconsin’s broadcasters can bring the citizens forums that can help them be informed voters.”
 
The Democratic candidates for governor will debate Friday,

The Rick Jowett Fellowship was established in 2017 by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation to support educational opportunities for photographers and videographers who work in media in Wisconsin.

Recipients of the fellowship can use the grant for professional development in the areas of photography and videography. Applicants must specify how the funds will be used.

Potential uses include but are not limited to courses offered by the National Press Photographers Association, the Poynter Institute, or any accredited college or university.

This fellowship intends to award a total of up to $2,000 in grants annually to multiple recipients to cover part or all of the recipients’ expenses.  … Read More

A man with a broadcast career spanning 50 years is stepping down from the WBA Foundation Board after years of service to the WBA.

Bruce Grassman also served on the WBA Board of Directors from  1992-1996 and recently came up with the idea for the WBA to create radio and TV ads to promote the WBA Hall of Fame.

Grassman also endowed the Results Broadcasting scholarship and is a member of the WBA Foundation Legacy Club.

Grassman’s broadcast career began at the 10-watt college radio station at Mankato State College in Minnesota in the mid-1960s.  … Read More

The Walker Broadcast Management Institute is in its 21st year and continues to sell out.

Registration for the 2018 session is closed and the class is full. If you’re interested in attending future sessions, contact Liz Boyd at 608-255-2600.

Attendees will gather in April at the UW-Madison School of Business and spend three days learning about marketing, creativity, and developing talent. Thank you to the Walker family estate for the endowment that supports the Institute. It’s the foundation’s largest endowment so far.

Here’s this year’s agenda:

2018 AGENDA

April 17,  … Read More