Eric Smith, director of broadcasting and audio-visual services at Northern Michigan University, has been elected to a second term as president of the Michigan Association of Public Broadcasters (MAPB).  WNMU-TV and WNMU-FM are both members of the organization, which encompasses all 11 public broadcasters in the state. 

Each station produces a variety of local programming tied to the region it serves. Seven are licensed to universities and provide PBS and NPR programming to communities across the state.  Many of the campus stations integrate students in their production and on-air activities.  Smith said NMU is considered one of the leaders in this part of station operations, providing experiential learning opportunities to more than 70 students each semester. 

Smith said the MAPB is working on a fiber optic interconnect initiative. 

"This will improve the transfer of local programming among Michigan’s nine public television stations and significantly reduce station costs through the elimination of satellite uplink services currently being used to distribute program files to broadcasters like WNMU," he said.