With the end of my tenure as Director of the Broadcast Media Center less than a week away, I want to say thank you for your wonderful support of Montana Public Radio and MontanaPBS. I also want to let you know what the plans are to maintain the administrative leadership of MTPR and KUFM-TV / MontanaPBS.
Peggy Kuhr, UM’s Vice President for Integrated Communications, to whom I report, has chosen Linda Talbott, the Assistant Director of the BMC and Director of Fundraising for MTPR, to serve as Interim Director. Saxon Holbrook will be Assistant Interim Director for Technology and John Twiggs will be Assistant Interim Director for Television Services. This is a very strong team of smart, dedicated and talented individuals who will make sure things run smoothly until a permanent director is in place.
A nationwide search will begin in the fall, with selection of a permanent director expected in winter of 2016. Peggy Kuhr says she intends to include a community representative on the search committee, along with individuals from the BMC, UM, and MontanaPBS constituencies. Mine is an attractive job in public media administration and I’m sure there will be a very strong pool of candidates.
Now, back to saying thank you – I have enjoyed every minute of my public radio and television career. Over 40 years that adds up to 4,992,000 minutes of pleasurable work with a remarkable group of talented and energizing people –including Phil Hess who started KUFM in 1965 and hired me in 1975, and Terry Conrad, my teacher and mentor, whose original grand plan for Montana public radio has been my guide for decades. I am confident that the current staffs at MTPR and MontanaPBS will carry on the tradition of excellence with creativity and integrity.
Finally, thanks to you for listening and watching, for praising and criticizing our work, for your generous financial support of public media, and for your trust in us. MTPR and MontanaPBS will have increasingly important roles to play in fair and principled journalism and high-quality music programming in the future. With your continued support they will thrive, and return your trust with valuable, fact-based storytelling and hours of enjoyment. I can’t wait to watch and listen.
William Marcus
Director, BMC