The first six broadcast stations selected to receive grants from a new program providing funds to establish paid engineering or media-technology internships at radio and TV have been revealed.
Benefiting from the NAB technology innovation initiative known as PILOT are a mix of properties that include a CBS affiliate serving Monterey Bay and two Saga Communications clusters.
In partnership with the National Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation (NABEF), as part of an effort to grow technical and engineering talent for the industry, PILOT awarded grants for part-time internships in the Spring 2019 academic term to WSNY-FM 94.7, WLVQ-FM 96.3, WNND-FM 103.5 and WVMX-FM 107.9 in Columbus, Ohio, the Saga stations run as The Columbus Radio Group.
At the same time, Saga’s Tidewater Communications is benefiting, with grants going to WAFX-FM 106.9, WNOR-FM 98.7 and WJOI-AM 1230.
Also getting a grant is Central Florida Educational Foundation, the Altamonte Springs, Fla., operator of one of the nation’s highest-rated Christian Contemporary stations: WPOZ-FM 88.3 in Orlando. The group’s stations include WMYZ-FM 88.7 in Clermont, WHYZ-FM 91.1 in Palm Coast and WDOZ-FM 91.7 in Pierson.
One other radio company is benefiting from PILOT: Bryan Broadcasting Corp., which has been given a grant for KNDE-FM 95.1 in College Station-Bryan, Tex.
On the TV side, recipients are News-Press & Gazette Co.‘s KION-46 (Cable 5) in Monterey-Salinas; and Graham Media Group‘s NBC affiliated WSLS-10 in Roanoke, Va.
“We were very encouraged by the number of applications to our first offering of these grants,” said NAB EVP/CTO Sam Matheny. “The broadcast industry is full of amazing technology, and this is a great new part of PILOT’s efforts to expose students to our industry and grow the next generation of technology and engineering leaders.”
NABEF President Marcellus Alexander added, “Connecting the next generation of technology talent with our industry through these internships is a winning collaboration. Broadcasters engage and motivate young, local, tech-minded talent in their communities by providing comprehensive, hands-on training. Students walk away with insight and experience in the broadcast technology space, while getting a glimpse at a potential future career.”
The Technology Internship Grant program also offers resources to assist the selected stations in identifying and supporting their interns and provides travel funds for the interns to attend the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas.
PILOT has also opened the application window for the program’s second round, which offers grants for full-time internships in Summer 2019. This window closes on November 2.
Additional program information and an online application form are available at http://nabpilot.org/techinterns/.
