Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Public Broadcasting Exec Joins UMTV

For immediate release, Oct. 8, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md.— A 25-year veteran of the public broadcasting industry has joined the staff as general manager of UMTV, the television station operated by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

Joseph Widoff, who has had numerous professional and executive positions in public TV, joined the Merrill College this month after a nationwide search for the station’s day-to-day manager. He will be responsible for the strategic direction of UMTV, including resource development and developing new programming that meets the needs of students, the University and the community as a whole.

“We are delighted to have someone with Joe’s experience lead UMTV,” said Associate Dean Don Heider, who directs the broadcast program. “Joe is a creative and energetic person. He will be doing a lot of work to revitalize the station, including overseeing a strategic plan for its future.”

UMTV was christened in 2000 when the university’s television operations came under Merrill College control. It serves a dual role of providing a laboratory for broadcast students and serving as a professional TV station that showcases professors and programs from around the campus. Since it’s inception, UMTV has produced numerous award-wining programs, including a nightly student-produced newscast, and nationally syndicated programs produced and hosted by faculty such as the Richard Eaton Chair Lee Thornton, a former CBS correspondent.

“I am delighted to have been selected for this position,” Widoff said. “My goal is to make UMTV a key element in helping the University of Maryland meet its goals as a major research university. Incredible achievements are happening every day here in College Park, involving the best and brightest faculty, students and administrators. Our programming should highlight those achievements which will, in turn, educate and inform the citizens of Montgomery and Prince George’s County whom UMTV serves and the entire state of Maryland as well.”

The station, which reaches more than half a million homes in suburban Washington and Baltimore City via Comcast cable, is designed to serve as an alternative to commercial television, offering a wide array of intellectually stimulating and culturally diverse programming. It is called “Smart Television.”

Plans are underway to expand the coverage of the University, including the taping and broadcast of many more performances and lectures on the campus. More than 20 hours of original programming will debut on the station next month.

Prior to joining UMTV, Widoff served as president and CEO of WHRO TV-FM, the public broadcasting station based in Norfolk, Va. He also served as chief operating officer of WETA, the public broadcasting station in Washington, D.C., and vice president of the Advanced Television Center, the facility that tested new digital and high definition television transmission standards that have been adopted by the Federal Communication Commission. At both WHRO and WETA, he helped oversee the construction of new digital television facilities. He started his public broadcasting career at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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For more information contact: Matthew C. Sheehan at 301.405.8320.