Boston University Administrative Services Vice President Peter Fiedler announced Wednesday that Joseph O’Connor, Jr., the current WBUR senior producer, will assume the WRNI general manager position May 15.
WBUR, a BU-owned radio group that produces National Public Radio’s “On Point,” operates the WRNI station in Providence, R.I. where Fiedler said O’Connor has demonstrated strong leadership during his temporary assignment.
O’Connor, a five-time Emmy award-winning “Nightline” producer, comes to WRNI almost a year and a half after the resignation of former GM Jane Christo, who resigned amid accusations of corruption and nepotism. After Christo’s resignation, Fiedler assumed the interim GM position until Oct. 3, 2005, when WBUR Group General Manager Paul La Camera was appointed. O’Connor will replace La Camera.
“Joe was an outstanding choice,” Fiedler said. “He has a history as a producer of television and his writing skills are outstanding, so he was a logical guy to pick for the position. He was the best guy we found out there for it.”
BU spokesman Colin Riley said Thursday that O’Connor will be “an outstanding asset to that station.” According to an April 5 press release, O’Connor spent 16 years at ABC’s “Nightline” and wrote for ABC News Radio after working for CNN in the 1980s. He has also worked at “Good Morning America,” “Primetime Live” and “World News Tonight.”
La Camera said O’Connor’s new responsibilities include news operations, local programming, staff development and revenue development.
To fill the position, WBUR created a four-member search committee that operated for about three months.
“He’s here in the station, so we knew of the opportunity, and we asked him if he would be interested,” said La Camera, one of the four committee members. “We presented the opportunity to him.”
Fiedler said O’Connor will move to Providence with his family before he begins work at WRNI.
“I am honored to have been chosen as the station’s new general manager,” O’Connor said in the press release.
“The station’s staff deserves much credit for establishing that record of service in Rhode Island,” he continued, “and I can’t wait to join them in furthering that work. My family and I also look forward to becoming part of the Providence community.”
But the position was offered to O’Connor after several candidates did not meet expectations, Fiedler said.
“We had a number of candidates, but we really weren’t successful in finding the right person,” he said. “Joe kind of came to our mind because he was assigned to ‘On Point’ only on a temporary basis.
“We brought the idea up, and he was very enthusiastic about it,” Fiedler continued.
La Camera said one of O’Connor’s best qualifications for the position is his journalistic experience.
“I think Joe, first and foremost, has distinguished journalistic credentials,” he said. “He has strong leadership abilities as well and he was interested in transitioning into media management, so we thought it was a perfect fit.”
In Providence, O’Connor’s presence will benefit both the people and the station, Fiedler said.
“It’s going to mean a tremendous amount for the people in Rhode Island,” he said. “The station has sort of been running on autopilot for quite awhile down there and it’s going to really give it some purpose, meaning and direction, and I think he’s going to do a great job. I’m really excited.”
The WBUR group and WRNI share a turbulent history. In 2004 WRNI was almost sold, along with WBUR affiliate WXNI, after the two Rhode Island radio stations amassed millions of dollars in debt. Both stations were eventually taken off the market as public outrage prompted an investigation into the WBUR finances, according to Daily Free Press reports.