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Staff Spotlight

Today we are introducing you to Violet Baron.

Violet works for WFIU as the Arts Producer and Announcer for All Things Considered. Violet has been here almost one year.

On WTIU Violet enjoys Journey Indiana! Her favorite childhood show on PBS was Arthur. On WFIU and NPR she loves Death, Sex & Money, Throughline, American Routes, Afropop Worldwide, Earth Eats and Inner States.

Outside of the office, Violet loves learning to cook new dishes, and biking and hiking with friends.

We asked Violet to tell us about her favorite experience since working at the station: "I love covering stories that I don't hear as often in broadcast media, and bringing those stories to wider audiences."

Thanks for everything you do, Violet!

Chamber Award Winners

Congratulations to Bloomington Chamber of Commerce Award winners Pamela Boswell-Dike and George Walker! For the third year in a row, Pamela received the Chamber’s Ambassador of the Year Award. And George Walker was named the winner of the Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

5th Annual WTIU Conference on Aging

Saturdays at 10am, October 1-November 19

The fifth annual WTIU Conference on Aging will be held online every Saturday at 10am from October 1 through November 19. We are pulling together area experts and resources to help participants find the answers to many questions associated with getting older, including important issues that can help you and your family. Please help us spread the word about this free conference to your family and friends—even those who live outside of our viewing area. 

IU Homecoming Parade

Friday, October 7 at 5:30pm

Woodlawn Avenue

The WFIU/WTIU News team will be participating in the IU Homecoming Parade on Friday, October 7 at 5:30pm. Last year we lost Adam Pinsker during the parade because he spent so much time talking to people in the crowd about how much they appreciated our local news. We will try to keep the whole news team together during the parade, but we do enjoy hearing feedback from our viewers and listeners!

Spencer Pride Festival

Saturday, October 15, 12-7pm

Courthouse Square

Downtown Spencer

WFIU/WTIU will be at the Spencer Pride Festival on October 15. If you are interested in working the event, please sign up here.

Please note: Non-exempt employees that wish to participate will need to gain supervisor approval prior to sign up and will need to be clocked in during the time period they work. 

WFIU/WTIU Open House

Thursday, October 20, 6-8pm

Studio 6

After a pandemic-related hiatus, our open house is back! We’ll be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Indiana Newsdesk, Bob Ross’s 80th birthday, and more. Please invite your family and friends to meet our staff, take a tour of our broadcast facilities, and get an insider’s look at public broadcasting. Light desserts and beverages will be provided.

If you are interested in working the event, please sign up here.

Please note: Non-exempt employees that wish to participate will need to gain supervisor approval prior to sign up and will need to be clocked in during the time period they work. 

Super Treat Night

Monday, October 31, 6-9pm

Boys & Girls Club

Bedford, IN

WTIU will be at Super Treat Night in Bedford this Halloween! We look forward to dressing up in costume and passing out candy to the thousands of children who attend this event. It will be a fun and busy evening!

Brad Kimmel served up the Queen’s Pancakes at the RTVS staff breakfast last Tuesday. Thanks to Joan Padawan for her help with the breakfast and to everyone who attended. We had a great turnout!

The WTIU crew and corporate development team had a great time at the Monroe County Fall Festival last month! Brent had the genius idea to bring his broom to help with cleanup for the cup stacking! And Scott was busy in the photo booth taking pictures of the hundreds of kids who came to see us.

We just wrapped up another successful fund drive for WFIU last month. One of the best parts of our membership campaigns is hearing from our listeners about why they support us. Here are a few comments we received:



“I value the calm, thoughtful, reliable news reporting, and appreciate that I always learn something new from On the Media, Hidden Brain, and so many other interesting programs! And, of course, the music, and the stories. WFIU enriches my life!”              —Stephanie, Bloomington

“We listen to WFIU daily as we hear different perspectives on the news stories of the day. On the weekends, we listen as much of the day is possible to Weekend Edition and the other wonderfully amusing, stimulating, insightful and thought-provoking programs. Thank you!” —Andrea and Amanda, Bloomington

“I love WFIU. It keeps me informed on a daily basis about what's going on in the world and locally. I love shows like Earth Eats and Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me! I also use NPR One, which I especially like because I can hear the news stories I missed throughout the day or weekend. Thanks for the great service!” —Christine, Bloomington

“WFIU keeps me company when I'm driving, cooking, working out, walking, and cleaning. I love the news, music, and great shows like Marketplace and Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me! Between WFIU 1 and 2 there is always something to suit my mood. I support WFIU because it supports me in so many different ways.” —Mary, Bloomington

“My girlfriend and I recently moved to Indianapolis where your show, Harmonia, plays on WFYI every Sunday night. We are MASSIVE fans. Every Sunday we get our tea and our dog to the couch, light some candles, and we sit and listen to your show. It's beautiful! Thank you so much for all that you do.” —Ben, Megan, and Pickle (the dog)

The U.S. and the Holocaust is a new documentary by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein that examines America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. Here’s what one of our viewers said about the program:

“I want to mention how EXCELLENT WTIU’s current offering about the Holocaust is. I was born in 1934, so I was very young at the beginnings of Hitler's march around Europe and the dreadful history of Hitler's murdering of hundreds of Jews. I was 7 when Pearl Harbor was bombed and at that age, I was able to comprehend a little more about what war was and is...and as a young woman I read Anne Frank's diary. This program is very well done...as we have come to expect from Ken Burns and his colleagues. And I appreciate WTIU’s offering of it at this time.” —Barbara, Bloomington

The U.S. and the Holocaust is now available to stream on PBS Video.

Employee Anniversaries

Congratulations to Nate Wrigley on celebrating his fifth anniversary with IU on September 11! Nate, along with Aaron Cain, Kayte Young, and Laura Baich were all presented with their IU service milestone anniversary pins last month. Aaron and Kayte have also worked at IU for five years, and Laura has worked at IU for 20 years (14 years at IU Press and 6 years at WFIU/WTIU).

While not new to RTVS, Holden Abshier will be assuming his new role within the News team on Monday, October 3. Within this role, he will be doing some daily news spot reporting, but his focus will be on in-depth reporting with a human perspective.

Also, a big welcome to all our part-time employees (including more interns) joining us this month! 

• The pandemic continues so please keep up to speed on the latest IU protocol and stay safe! Learn more

• Reminder: Apply for Fall 2022 semester/term tuition benefit before October 30 if that’s something you are eligible for and want to utilize!

• HR appreciates all our personnel for participating in our background with PIC check and in the completion of our annual EEO CPB training. If you have any questions about these items, please contact Kylie Bovenschen. If you are still out of compliance per our records with your background with PIC check, Kylie will continue to reach out to you. Please take care of this ASAP. 

• This month, RTVS HR will be reaching out to several our employees (full and part-time) for Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) compliance. We will need every employee (much like background with PIC and EEO CPB) to undergo this check, so stay tuned! 

• RTVS leaders have been contacted to help RTVS Administration create a phone/building location listing for our organization. If you have been asked by your leader for your contact information and have not yet provided this information, please do so as soon as possible.

• Reminder that the next RTVS all-staff meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 4 at 10am. 

• IU HR has announced that newly updated guidance will be shared with departments soon regarding expectations for remote work and this may necessitate the need for RTVS personnel remote work arrangements to change. RTVS HR will be sharing communication with leaders regarding any changes once this new guidance has been shared so they may communicate with their staff. 

• Check out the IU Human Resources Calendar for events relating to wellness, safety, retirement, diversity, and much more!

• As a reminder, many of our job openings can be seen on our website. Please share with your network!