Todd Storz
CLASS OF 1989 Todd Storz was the man who developed local music and news formats for radio at a time when the industry was struggling against the onslaught of television. Block radio and variety were the rules. Changing it at the time required new thinking and courage. An early interest in radio steered Todd to […]
Merrill Workhoven
CLASS OF 1990 A valuable addition to WOW’s announcing staff came in 1945. Merrill Workhoven joined WOW after stints at KSCJ Sioux City, KSOO Sioux Falls. He had also spent a few years in Hollywood doing short films. Some speculate that it was Merrill who encouraged young co-worker Johnny Carson to quit and move to […]
Bob Taylor
CLASS OF 1990 Bob Taylor was a fixture in news broadcasting at KOLN/KGIN channels 110/11 television in Lincoln and Grand Island for 28 years. He’s described as a true dyed-in-the-wool newsman and remembered fondly as a strict mentor to young newspeople starting out as interns. A North Carolina native, Bob graduated from Northwestern University in […]
Foster May
CLASS OF 1990 Foster May was an aggressive, controversial figure in Nebraska, considered a radio phenomenon at the time. He set the pattern for local radio news coverage during the 1930s and 40s, its formative period. Clearly a workaholic, he at one time handled all newscasts from 6 a.m. to midnight before the days of […]
Ken Elkins
CLASS OF 1991 Kenneth Joe Elkins was one of eight children of a coal miner in southern West Virginia. His military service brought Ken to Nebraska where his broadcast career in management was meteoric. It began in 1960 at KETV in Omaha, working nights as a camera operator while serving in the air Force at […]
Dick Cavett
CLASS OF 1991 Dick Cavett appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States for five decades, from the 1960s through the 2000s. A native Nebraskan born in Gibbon, much of his success may have happened elsewhere, but his inspiration was rooted in his home state. Precociously bright, Cavett got laughs from an early […]
Dietrich Dirks
CLASS OF 1992 Dietrich Dirks Dirks was born and raised in Nebraska. He was one of the founders of the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and its first president in 1934 and 1935. His broadcasting career began in Lincoln after graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1924. He started out as sports director but a year […]
Helen Duhamel
CLASS OF 1992 Helen Duhamel was a highly successful businesswoman and broadcaster, establishing a cluster of radio and television stations in western South Dakota and Nebraska. Helen moved from Missouri to Nebraska with her family when she was two years old. She was raised on a ranch on the White River north of Chadron and […]
Larry Rice
CLASS OF 1993 Larry Rice was the owner and general manager of KBRB AM & FM in Ainsworthf or over 40 years. Rice came to Nebraska from Missouri. His ambition was to become a high school coach, but a part-time radio job at KNIM Marysville changed his course to broadcasting. He moved to full-time, then […]
Walt Kavanaugh
CLASS OF 1993 Walt Kavanaugh’s career as a newsman contributed to the legendary success of two stations in the country, KOWH and KFAB, both in Omaha. Walt Kavanaugh was a “South Omaha Boy,” graduating from South High in 1940. After military service as a paratrooper during the war, Walt graduated from Creighton University and entered […]