WUWM's Vice President of Content and Programming Ele Ellis has left the station after five years of service. She joined Blue Ridge Public Radio as their general manager and CEO.
While at WUWM, Ele provided invaluable leadership and vision. She shared some highlights from her time at WUWM with General Manager David Lee.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What are you looking forward to out in Asheville?
The staff there is really, really great. They've had a really hard year in Asheville with the [Hurricane] Helene recovery. But the staff is so good, and the reporting is so good, and the hosting is so good. And I'm just excited to see what the next step is. It's a challenge because we're going to have to keep moving on with that coverage and then find what the next steps are. I'm thrilled to be back in the South. I'm thrilled to be back in Asheville. A lot of people probably don't know, but I lived in western North Carolina for 10 years. It's where I started my career. So, I'm just really excited to come back and lead a station that I've known for many, many years and respected for many, many years and just to be a part of their team.
As you're saying goodbye to your colleagues and goodbye to the city that I think has come to embrace you, what's a reflection you might have?
I've really liked living in Milwaukee. When I was looking at moving to Milwaukee, everything was closed down. So, I didn't know how great it was going to be here. I didn't know how great it was going to be to have a brewery on every corner, a bar on every corner. And it's been super fun for me to be a Bucks fan and be a Brewers fan and be a Packers fan. And I'm never going to be the sports fan that can tell you everything about every player, but it's been super fun to feel like I moved to a place and been a part of big things, and people are excited to have you, even as an outsider, be part of those big things and be excited about the Bucks and be excited about the Brewers and Bucks.
What do you think about the future of public media in general?
I think that public media is so important in this country that we're going to figure out some way to save it. I don't know what's going to happen with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. But what I know is the people at this radio station will work very hard to figure out where that money can come from. The people at BPR will figure it out. I can't even name how many radio stations where I know the people that will work to figure it out. That has my job here or your job here, my job there. Yeah. And they're all really dedicated and they all really think it's important.
