WKSU recently named the former assistant news director of a New Jersey public radio station to be its next news director.

Former journalist Andrew Meyer has spent the past 16 years at NPR affiliate WBGO in Newark, New Jersey, including the past three-and-a-half years as its assistant news director. Meyer said he was looking for the opportunity to run his own staff, and Kent’s NPR affiliate gave him the opportunity to do so.

“I had been looking for a news director opening at another public radio station because that’s where I really wanted to be,” said Meyer, who has worked for both commercial and public radio stations.

Meyer said he found the WKSU position online and was contacted through a search, so he decided to apply. After a phone interview, he came to Kent in April for a one-day, in-person interview. Three to four weeks later, he was offered the job.

Meyer started working as the news director about two weeks ago.

He works with WKSU’s news staff of seven full-time reporters to plan coverage and build relationships with the Northeast Ohio community, according to a press release. He said he was impressed by the work the WKSU staff has been doing.

“This is just an incredible organization filled with so many talented people and on top of that, they’re all really nice,” Meyer said.

He said the staff is also very supportive and patient with him as he is learning more about the station and the Northeast Ohio area.

“I came to a realization in my first week that what I’m learning is really tantamount to getting a crash course in a new language,” he said. “There’s a lot to learn about the way things work and committing that to both memory and also making it part of my daily routines.”

After he learns the day-to-day procedure, he plans to work toward positioning the station as a news source for the broadcast region it serves.

“That’s a challenge because the WKSU signal and its other transmitters reach 22 counties in Northeast Ohio,” he said. “So, I will be working with my news team and my program director here and my immediate boss to strategize on the best ways to serve that listening audience.”

Meyer and his family are now settling into Hudson since moving to the area about three weeks ago.

He said his family was on board with the move, especially his 3-and-a-half year old daughter, who was most excited about moving to the town with the really neat playground.

Contact Alicia Balog at [email protected].