Mike Savage

Mike Savage is the Director & General Manager at WEKU, a University licensee that serves Central and Eastern Kentucky through four full power FM stations and five translators. WEKU is the only dedicated public radio news station serving Lexington. In many parts of rural Eastern Kentucky, WEKU is the only source of news and information. Under his leadership, WEKU has undergone a financial transformation, going from near insolvency to an organization with a long term strategic plan as well as growth in audience, underwriting and membership.

Previously, Savage was General Manager of WBAA in West Lafayette, Indiana, and WKCC in Kankakee, Illinois. He served on the NPR Board from 2014-2017 serving in leadership roles including Vice Chair of the Distribution/Interconnection Committee. In that role, he successfully advocated for a change in the D/I fee calculation for stations to protect stations from large fee increases in the event of CPB defunding. Savage also served on other NPR committees including Strategic Planning, Audit and Membership.

Savage has held board positions on state and regional public radio organizations including Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations, Association of Kentucky Public Radio Stations and Public Radio in MidAmerica. He holds a bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism and a master's in Mass Communication. He has been honored with dozens of journalism awards by the Society for Professional Journalists and Associated Press.