March 17, 2006

Scandal shakes public radio

The sedate, urbane world of public broadcasting was rattled Thursday as prosecutors charged three former employees of Michigan Public Media with illegally accepting golf club memberships, Persian rugs, airline tickets and massages in exchange for on-air considerations at the state\'s top public radio station. Each of the men -- current WDET-FM general manager Michael Coleman, Jeremy Nordquist and Justin Ebright -- was charged by Washtenaw County prosecutors in Ann Arbor with embezzlement of under $20,000 while working at Michigan Public Media-controlled WUOM-FM (91.7). Each could face up to five years in prison if convicted. Coleman, who left Michigan Public Media as deputy director last year to be general manager at WDET and who has made several controversial programming changes in his new job, remains in his position, said Louis Lessem, vice president and general counsel for Wayne State University, which owns the station. \"We know very little about the charge, other than that it has been made,\" said Lessem, adding that Coleman is not on administrative leave.

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