WBHM 90.3 Names Scott Hanley New GM
Scott E. Hanley will become general manager of Public Radio WBHM 90.3 FM, licensed to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, effective Monday, Aug. 27.
Hanley is a former member of the NPR Board of Directors, co-founder of JazzWorks LLC and previous director of WDUQ-FM at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa. He was selected for the leadership role with North Central Alabama’s NPR News Station after a national search, said Kristi Lamont Ellis, UAB assistant vice president of public relations and marketing and chair of the station’s Friends of WBHM community advisory board.
“We are delighted to be welcoming Scott Hanley to his new home in Birmingham and at WBHM,” said Ellis, who has served as the station’s interim general manager since Oct. 1, 2011, subsequent to the retirement of the previous incumbent. “We were fortunate to have a strong candidate pool and attract someone who is both a consummate broadcast journalism professional and strong civic leader; it speaks well of the station’s national reputation on the news front.”
Hanley, a 1982 graduate of Eastern Michigan University, will come to WBHM from the Greater Uniontown (Pa.) Heritage Consortium, Inc., where he serves as executive director. Prior to that, he was director and general manager of WDUQ-FM for 16 years; during his time at the station, the size of its audience doubled and the amount of donated income more than tripled, and WDUQ pioneered digital services in public radio, online, and HD radio. Hanley began his on-air career in 1978 at WAAM-AM in Ann Arbor, Mich.; he has spent the majority of his career in public broadcasting, including at various radio stations in Michigan, Texas and Iowa. In 1998 he co-founded JazzWorks, an advanced-technology satellite-delivered jazz programming service for public radio stations across the country that was funded in part by grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting “Future Fund.” He also has taught broadcasting, journalism, media sales and media management at the college level.
Hanley served on the NPR Board of Directors from 2002-2008. During his time on that board, he served on its executive, investment, membership, and strategic planning and technology committees. In addition, from 2003-2008, he was chair of the NPR distribution/interconnection committee, which was responsible for the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS), the distribution network for public radio stations throughout the United States. In 2011 he received the Public Radio Regional Organization PRRO Award for contributions on behalf of public radio stations nationwide.
About WBHM
Public Radio WBHM 90.3 FM, a listener-supported service of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is “Your NPR News Station” and home to the Alabama Radio Reading Service, a resource for the blind and print-impaired. WBHM programming and award-winning regional journalism also can be heard in North Central Alabama on WSGN 91.5 FM through a partnership with Gadsden State Community College. Listen and give online at WBHM.org and follow the station at WBHM903 on Twitter and Facebook.