09/17/2008

WOSU, ABN Radio Announce New Partnership

Source:

Cheryl Petrilla, WOSU
petrilla.6@osu.edu
(614) 292-9678

Lindsay Hill, ABN
lindsay@BuckeyeAg.com
(614) 206-7268

LONDON, Ohio -- WOSU Public Media has announced a new partnership with ABN Radio, the largest farm radio network in Ohio. ABN will relocate their headquarters to WOSU facilities on the Ohio State campus in Columbus in early 2009.

ABN will move into office and studio space in the Fawcett Center on the Columbus campus, recently vacated by WOSU when it opened its new digital radio complex within the building.

According to WOSU General Manager Tom Rieland, "This partnership is a perfect match for WOSU and ABN and supports the mission of both of our media operations and Ohio State. It's a unique opportunity that could lead to many interesting programming collaborations in the future."

The move onto the campus of Ohio State University will also give ABN greater access to experts and educators within the field of agriculture, as well as strengthening its connection with students.

"Prior to owning ABN, we began at the network as student employees, so we place a high value on student interaction and training," said Andy Vance, ABN chief executive officer. "This partnership will allow us to open our facilities to students for tours, hands-on training and internships, making it a learning laboratory."

The announcement about the new endeavor was made on the first day of the Farm Science Review, the annual outdoor agricultural show hosted by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

"With this new partnership, we look forward to developing even stronger ties between the college and ABN Radio in supporting agriculture in the state of Ohio," said Bobby Moser, vice president for agricultural administration and dean of the college. Moser attended the announcement with the university's president, E. Gordon Gee.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to enrich the academic preparation of our students with-hands on experience," said Gee. "As a land-grant university, Ohio State was founded with agriculture at its core, and this collaboration strengthens and extends our mission in tangible ways."

Lindsay Hill, chief marketing officer for ABN, said announcing the partnership at the Farm Science Review was only natural.

"Farm Science Review is the university's largest annual celebration of agriculture, so it is only fitting that this event would serve as a stage for unveiling these plans," Hill said. "Having President Gee on hand was also important because he shared in this vision early on, recognizing the synergies it would provide."

ABN plans to move early next year, pending the completion of studio renovations. The company produces agricultural radio programming that is heard on over 65 stations across Ohio and provides programming for five other states as well.

WOSU Public Media is community-supported, nonprofit, noncommercial public radio and television stations licensed to The Ohio State University. For more information, visit http://wosu.org.