Tag: first female

Industry News

Bonneville Seattle’s Brynna Rogers First Woman to Engineer Super Bowl Radio Broadcast

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

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Bonneville Seattle broadcast engineer Brynna Rogers made history yesterday at the first woman in NFL history to engineer a Super Bowl play-by-play radio broadcast. Rogers engineered the game on “Seattle Sports 710 AM” and “KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM.” Prior to the game, Rogers said, “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I have to stop every once in a while, look around, and take it in – to remind myself that this is really cool and that not many people get to do this.” Speaking about what her duties are during the game, Rogers said, “I mix their mics, I EQ them, I add dynamics, and I apply compression and limiting. Everything happens in real time.” Rogers is pictured above with the Seattle Seahawks radio post-game broadcast crew.

Industry News

Cumulus Media Promotes Ann Thomas to Program Director for WJR, Detroit

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Cumulus Media announces that it is promoting Ann Thomas to program director for heritage news/talk outlet WJR, Detroit. The company says that Thomas becomes the first female program director in the station’s 101-year history. She rises from her previous role as assistant program director and executive producer. Thomas started at WJR as an intern in 1982 and was then hired full-time as producer of a WJR program called, “The Other Side of the News.” She went on to become a WJR news reporter and anchor, winning several Associated Press, United Press International, and Detroit Press Club awards for Breaking News and Auto Negotiations. In 1999, Thomas was named executive producer of the “Paul W. Smith Show.” Thomas also produced the WJR-MSU tailgate shows for 15 years from 2006-2021. She has hosted WJR programs including “The Healthy Woman Show,” “Opportunity Detroit,” “The WJR Gardening Show,” and “Women Who Lead,” which she launched 11 years ago to highlight Michigan women from all walks of life doing great things in the community. Cumulus Media RVP and market manager Steve Finateri says, “Ann Thomas is the heart and soul of WJR and has been deserving of this move for a very long time. Her fingerprints are already all over this heritage, award-winning radio station, but we are all excited to see what the future holds with Ann in the driver’s seat!” At the same time, Cumulus promotes Mike Wheeler from WJR PD to operations manager for Cumulus Detroit/Ann Arbor. In the newly created position, Wheeler will manage operations for the company’s four Detroit stations and four Ann Arbor stations.