News Radio
Newsradio 620 WTMJ’s Gene Mueller Announces Retirement
“Mueller will sign off on the airwaves in February of 2022.”

Published
11 months agoon

After 44 years in broadcasting, Newsradio 620 WTMJ’s Gene Mueller announced his retirement from Wisconsin’s Morning News.
“I’ve been blessed with fantastic opportunities over the course of my career,” Mueller said in a statement released via @620WTMJ on Twitter. “Not the least of which was the one I had the past 14 years to host Wisconsin’s Morning News, accompanied by so many talented teammates and such supportive management.”
Just announced a bit of a career pivot on @620wtmj…that being my retirement from Wisconsin's Morning News in early 2022. After 44 years of morning radio, I await the chance to reacquainted my body with its long ignored circadian rhythm. pic.twitter.com/Svqfw8dXfk
— Gene Mueller (@genemueller) June 16, 2021
Mueller will sign off on the airwaves in February of 2022.
Numerous current and former teammates of Mueller’s took to social media to congratulate him on a stellar career.
1) A legend.
— Jay Sorgi (@jsorgi) June 16, 2021
2) The ultimate pro journalist balanced with a comic genius.
3) He was, and is, always his genuine-kindness-with-a-Miller-High-Life-in-his-hand self.@genemueller, a gift to share 22 of your 40 years in broadcasting as a teammate, and a blessing to call you friend. https://t.co/3Pmv2Ct5aF
Today marks the start of my 8th year at @620wtmj. 7 of those I’ve been lucky enough to produce for @genemueller. One of the biggest mentors in my life. The BEST around. He announced today he will retire in 2022. We will miss him dearly, but are so excited for his next chapter! pic.twitter.com/1sVfZJXfnr
— Rachel Frye (@rachfrye) June 16, 2021
A legend and one of first radio hosts I was a fan of growing up. https://t.co/vN0SC59EpO
— Jim Rutledge (@JimRutledge) June 16, 2021
Newsradio 620 WTMJ is owned and operated by Good Karma Brands, Vice President and Market Manager Steve Wexler released the following statement:
“Gene has informed and entertained generations of listeners. He is beloved by so many people in our community because of the authentic, personal connection he’s made with them over the air and in person. We can’t thank him enough for his years of early wake-ups, his commitment to our stations and our community, and of course his sense of humor.
“The morning show on WTMJ is our flagship program. We’re looking forward to continuing to provide news, personality, companionship and meaningful content, over the air and on our digital platforms for generations to come.”
Tony Cartagena
Tony Cartagena is a former contributor to Barrett News Media. He has previously served as a Digital Content Manager for Audacy Minneapolis, a reporter and producer for ESPN Cleveland, Director of Content for ESPN Madison, and a producer for ‘Wilde & Tausch’. You can reach him on Twitter @TonyCartagena or by email at TonyJCartagena@gmail.com.
News Radio
WOLB’s Larry Young Recovering After Having His Leg Amputated
WOLB’s Larry Young has been off the air since April 10.

Published
21 hours agoon
May 19, 2022By
Ryan Hedrick
A popular Baltimore radio host is recovering after having his leg amputated due to an allergy triggered by his Type 2 diabetes. According to the Baltimore Sun, WOLB’s Larry Young has been off the air since April 10.
“I knew I had a problem,” Young told the paper. “I didn’t know it was as severe as it was. When I got to the hospital, the doctors gave me two options: amputation or death. That is a terrible thing to hear.”
Young has been hosting the morning show on the Urban One-owned station for nearly three decades. He reportedly is planning to retire at the end of the year.
“Larry is a wonderful person, and we all miss him terribly,” said WOLB GM Howard Mazer. “I’m sure all of our listeners are looking forward to his return.”
Young is no stranger to health scares. 18 years ago, he was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart episode. Young said at the time, doctors gave him less than a 1% chance of surviving.
“The word ‘no’ is not in Larry’s vocabulary,” Mazer said. “He will go out of his way to help someone, no matter what.
Former mayor Catherine Pugh will fill-in during Young’s absence.
Ryan Hedrick
Ryan Hedrick serves as the Co-Host of the Morning News Express at WFMD. He started in radio at 17 years old, doing sports and news for his high school radio station. He then spent several years at WFMD in Frederick, MD before joining WBEN in Buffalo, NY. In 2016, while working at WIBW-AM in Topeka KS, Hedrick earned the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) award for Major Market enterprise reporting. Hedrick grew up in Southern California where he attended Cal State University of Northridge. He can be found on Twitter @SureToCover.
News Radio
NPR Inks Three-Year Partnership with Take 1
Under the agreement, which started in January 2022, Take 1 is delivering NPR with exact, XML-based transcriptions for over 30 daily and weekly programs and limited series.

Published
1 day agoon
May 18, 2022By
Eduardo Razo
NPR has announced a new partnership as the radio company reached a three deal with Take 1 which will transcribe its news, analysis, and podcast programming.
Under the agreement, which started in January 2022, Take 1 is delivering NPR with exact, XML-based transcriptions for over 30 daily and weekly programs and limited series. Furthermore, the company will provide the stats with turnaround times varying from a few days to just a few hours.
“Almost all of my searches for transcribers show most U.S. providers cannot handle NPR’s high volume, high accuracy, and rush deadlines at an affordable price, and competitive businesses based abroad are unfamiliar with the intricacies of American-English accents, slang, idioms, and cultural references,” Laura Soto-Barra, NPR RAD chief (Research Archives & Data Strategy) said.
“NPR poses an added challenge due to the many specialized subjects we cover, from world politics to science and medicine. Still additionally, the tech requirements and the format that allows the transcript to be ingested in the NPR systems present additional challenges not all companies can resolve. We’ve known the Take 1 team for many years, we’ve used their translation services in the past, and they were one of the very few I knew that could deliver against this brief.”
The multipurpose core of NPR’s transcripts signifies that accuracy and fast turnarounds are equally crucial to the company. In addition to being dispersed to NPR’s network of member stations, the transcriptions that Take 1 constructs are posted on the NPR website to make the content available.
“Almost all of my searches for transcribers show most U.S. providers cannot handle NPR’s high volume, high accuracy, and rush deadlines at an affordable price, and competitive businesses based abroad are unfamiliar with the intricacies of American-English accents, slang, idioms, and cultural references,” says Laura Soto-Barra, NPR RAD chief (Research Archives & Data Strategy).
“NPR poses an added challenge due to the many specialized subjects we cover, from world politics to science and medicine. Still additionally, the tech requirements and the format that allows the transcript to be ingested in the NPR systems present additional challenges not all companies can resolve.” She continues, “We’ve known the Take 1 team for many years, we’ve used their translation services in the past, and they were one of the very few I knew that could deliver against this brief.”
Eduardo Razo
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
News Radio
WBEN’s Tim Wenger Recounts Covering Buffalo Mass Shooting as News Broke
“I received a phone call from a source that I have within the Buffalo Police Department who said he thought it would be a good idea if we had someone at the Tops Market on Jefferson Ave,” Wenger said.

Published
2 days agoon
May 18, 2022By
Eduardo Razo
This past weekend, an alleged White Supremacist went into a Buffalo supermarket in a predominantly black neighborhood and killed ten people.
One of the news media outlets leading the coverage in Buffalo was Audacy “Newsradio 930” WBEN. The radio station jumped in to fill the nation and its residents as to what went on.
In an interview with Inside Radio, Brand Manager Tim Wenger, talked the website through its coverage as soon as the news broke about the shooting.
“I received a phone call from a source that I have within the Buffalo Police Department who said he thought it would be a good idea if we had someone at the Tops Market on Jefferson Ave,” Wenger said.
“I did a little bit of research while I was on the way and discovered there was an active shooting situation (…) We had heard eight, and then nine and then 10. It just kept escalating over the course of a couple of hours on scene before finally, there was official word from authorities in the form of a press conference.”
Wenger then discussed how the story was developing, keeping the entire station on high alert to what was coming out and why they needed to be on top of the information.
“This happened in a really close-knit community where people know each other. It’s not a typical urban environment where everybody just kind of goes about their business,” Wenger added.
“This is a community that fought for that store to be there years ago. And we’re just trying to give everyone a voice and not decide for anybody what needs to happen but listen to everybody and let the community decide what needs to happen.”
Eduardo Razo
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.