WHYY has been reaching millions with national radio and television broadcasts, but it holds bragging rights as the only television station with a nightly news program dedicated to the state of Delaware. And the organization will expand their commitment to the First State with the Jan. 17 formal unveiling of their new Dover Community News Bureau.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony, though not open to the public, will be broadcasted live on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 5:27 p.m., just before the weeknight airing of “WHYY Delaware Tonight.” The new bureau is located in the Citizens Bank Building at 8 Loockerman Street in Dover.
“’WHYY Delaware Tonight’ has been broadcasting nightly news program in and for Delaware since 1963,” said WHYY Senior Publicist Jeff Bundy. The organization’s president and CEO, William J. Marrazzo, said he is pleased with the news bureau, as it “…allows WHYY to better serve the needs of all Delawareans, from the rural reaches of Sussex County to metropolitan Wilmington.”
Marrazzo, Dover Mayor Stephen R. Speed, WHYY Board of Directors Chairwoman Molly Dickinson Shepard and several other WHYY representatives will be in attendance for the ceremony.
“Construction of the bureau increases the broadcast area and production capabilities,” said Bundy. “With the location in Dover, we can easily cover news in other areas. When based out of Wilmington, it might take two hours to track a story down in Sussex County, then another two hours to get back. With all that time, a story might not make it to the 5:30 live broadcast. In addition, being located in the state capital, we will be close to the legislative offices.”
Dover bureau chief Patrick Mairs, who has been with WHYY for two and a half years, said the unveiling of the Dover Community News Bureau will enhance WHYY’s capabilities.
“By doing this, we are making a strong effort to broadcast Delaware, the whole,” Mairs said. “It will allow us easier access into areas of the state that we didn’t have before. [The Dover location] will help us find other concerns and stories for the people of Delaware.”
Mairs added that with a bureau, ideas and stories may even be brought in directly. Other locations were briefly considered — mostly around the state’s capital — but Mairs said the final location was the best choice.
WHYY Vice President and Station Manager Paul Gluck said he is very optimistic about the new bureau.
“The bureau will allow is to examine more cultural stories, especially in Sussex County. There’s a lot to be learned,” he said. “Too many people who don’t live in Sussex County don’t have a strong concept for what the area is like. We want to reach their ideas and their concerns, too. This will be a great joy to not only visit the communities, but to be a part of them, as well.”
Coincidentally, the completion of the bureau fell in the 50th year of broadcasting for WHYY TV-12, noted Bundy. “It’s really great to see that we’ve expanded so much,” he said.
“From day one,” added Gluck, “We hoped to find a holistic way to cover Delaware, and now we have.”