Willis Kern

About Willis Kern

I have been involved in radio, mostly full-time, since 1975. Upon graduation from Bloomington (IL) HS in 1974, I attended Brown Institute School of Broadcasting in Minneapolis, MN from 1974-75, where I earned my First Class FCC license. In 1975, I began working full-time as news reporter and play-by-play announcer for local high schools and Illinois Wesleyan University football and basketball on WAKC-AM, Normal,IL In 1976, I was named News Director/Farm Director/Sports Director. In fall of 1976 I enrolled at Illinois State University, seeking a Mass Communication degree. In 1977, I joined WJBC-AM as a part-time announcer. In 1980, I graduated from ISU and became a fulltime evening host at WJBC. I also co-hosted an evening sports talk call-in show and did some sports play-by-play, calling the first-ever high school basketball game played at ISU\'s Redbird Arena. In 1993, I left WJBC to become Assistant News Director at WGLT-FM, Normal (NPR-Illinois State University). In 1997, I became News Director. In addition to news reporting, hosting & supervising, I was the voice of ISU women\'s basketball & volleyball on WGLT for three years. Since 1997, WGLT has won dozens of awards for Journalism Excellence from the Illinois Associated Press, United Press International, Radio-Television Digital News Association (Edward R. Murrow Award), and Public Media Journalists Association. Named Best Downstate Reporter by IL Assoc. Press, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009. In May 2017, I retired from my position as WGLT News Dir. and spent one season hosting and producing the true-crime podcast Suspect Convictions, created by Scott Reeder. Following a stint as special correspondent, I relocated to Fort Myers, FL in 2022 and fill-in part time as host at WGCU-FM, NPR for SW FLA. From Nov. 2022 to Feb. 2023, I served as interim Morning Edition host for WFYI-FM, Indianapolis, which is simulcast on 3 other NPR stations in IN.

Experience

1. Part-time Fill-in Host

   Wgcu Public Media

   Jan 2022 — Present · Fort Myers, FL, US

   NPR for southwest Florida

Education

• Illinois State University

  BS, Mass Communication

  1976 — 1980

• Brown Institute School of Broadcasting

  Radio Broadcasting, First Class FCC License

  1974 — 1975