WKSU NAMES MARK URYCKI DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING AND OPERATIONS

Wednesday May 30, 2007

For immediate release
Contact: Robert J. Burford, WKSU
(330) 672-3114
burford@wksu.org

WKSU has welcomed back veteran journalist Mark Urycki as the station's new Director of Programming and Operations. Urycki comes to WKSU from Cleveland's 90.3 WCPN and WVIZ/PBS-TV ideastream. He worked as a reporter/producer at WKSU from 1984 through 2005.

Born and raised in Akron, Mark Urycki fell in love with radio at an early age and hosted a variety of music programs as a college student, including "Morning Jazz" and "Fresh Air," WKSU's late night student-run progressive rock show. But, as much as he loved music, he discovered his true talent in journalism and he turned his attention to news, finding his first "real" job as a reporter in Canton at WNYN-AM in 1982.

During his decades at WKSU, Urycki covered everything from presidents and Nobel Prize winners to the area's beloved sports teams and broad range of arts and cultural organizations. He was named Best Reporter by Ohio chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in 2000. Urycki's hour-long documentary on the shootings on the Kent State University campus on May 4, 1970 earned him national honors from SPJ, the Association for Women in Communications (AWC) and the Third Coast International Audio Festival, one of only seven awards presented by the prestigious global radio documentary competition in 2002, and Program of the Year from Ohio Educational Telecommunications (OET – now eTech). Along with numerous local, state and regional awards, Urycki's work in the WKSU newsroom also earned a National Headliner award, a Sigma Delta Chi honor from national SPJ and an AWC Clarion award with Vincent Duffy for their documentary series on adoption; OET Producer of the Year in 2003; and a national Gabriel award for "A New Blimp in Launched."

Urycki, a graduate of Archbishop Hoban High School and Kent State University, lives with his son in Tallmadge. Urycki is a dedicated film buff and an avid cyclist.

WKSU broadcasts NPR & Classical Music at 89.7 FM, and is a service of Kent State University. WKSU programming is also heard on WKRW 89.3 FM in Wooster, WKRJ 91.5 FM in Dover-New Philadelphia, WKSV 89.1 FM in Thompson, WNRK 90.7 in Norwalk, and W298BA 107.5 in Boardman. The WKSU web site is www.wksu.org.

PR06.07 ### 5/30/07
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