ARTICLE
Delaware Public Media, Delaware’s only noncommercial media outlet dedicated to covering the First State, is making news of its own. Today marks 10 years since DPM’s streaming news service began broadcasting over WDDE-FM, and today DPM announced that local broadcast veteran Pete Booker will take the helm as general manager starting September 6. Long-time DPM president Jane C.W. Vincent will retire from that position and remain with DPM to focus on development. “We are thrilledto be celebrating a decade as an essential, trusted source for Delaware news, and we are deeply grateful to the listeners, partners, donors, and program sponsors who have helped us reach this milestone,” said RandyFarmer, DPM board chair. “And we couldn’t be more excited about our future, especially now that our team includes the unparalleled combination of Pete Booker as general manager andTom Byrne,Delaware’s dean of broadcast journalism,as news director.The board offers our thanks to Jane Vincent for her work the past five years, and we are delighted that she remains committed to DPM.” Booker, whose radio career dates to1969, spent 33 years at Delmarva Broadcasting Company, where he was president and CEO from 1993 until his retirement in 2015. Byrne, who has more than 30 years of experience as a Delaware broadcast journalist, has been DPM’s news director since its founding. Together, Booker and Byrne provide a degree of Delaware insight, context, and perspective that is unmatched in local media. “As other local news outlets shrink or disappear altogether, Delaware Public Media provides a critical serviceasthe need for locally focused, objective journalismis growing,” Booker said. “I’m looking forward to leveraging our past success into future growth.” Founded in 2009as a livestreamed news service, DPM acquired a radio license and, in partnership with the University of Delaware and Delaware State University, began broadcasting over 91.1 FM WDDE from studios on DSU’s Dover campus on August 17, 2012. DPM’s programming, which blends content produced by NPR and other noncommercial media outlets with First State-specific news, features, and commentary, is also available 24/7 via delawarepublic.org and the Delaware Public Media app.