Steel City Radio: 11 Ex-WDUQ Staffers Rehired

Eleven former 90.5 WDUQ-FM employees will remain onboard as the station transitions to Essential Public Media, which will launch on July 1, according to a story by Paul McMullen at pittsburghlive,com.

Essential Public Media, a subsidiary of independent public radio station WYEP-FM/Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting, signed an agreement to buy the city's oldest and most listened-to radio station from Duquesne University on May 2 for $6 million and announced the hires on Thursday. The university last week notified the station's 20 full-time employees of their termination.

Bob Studebaker and Helen Wigger accepted positions as hosts of JazzWorks programming on the station's HD channel. Studebaker also will serve as a producer, and Wigger will be operations director for the station.

Mark Nootbaar, WDUQ's assistant news director, was named senior assignment editor for the new station. News director Kevin Gavin will become director of interns and a producer for the station. Three reporters -- Larkin Page-Jacobs, Erika Beres and Noah Brode -- will stay with the new station.

Hosts of two weekly local WDUQ programs will stay on the station with their hosts; Dale Abraham and Mike Plaskett with "Rhythm Sweet and Hot" and Dr. Vijay Bahl and Harish Saluja with "Music From India."

WDUQ employees Fred Serino and Vicky Rumpf will stay with the station only to help with the transition. Several other WDUQ staffers retired or chose not to apply for openings with Essential Public Media, and some positions were consolidated.

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