Texas Public Radio Names Dan Katz As News Director
September 14, 2018 – After an extensive national search, Texas Public Radio (TPR) has selected a new member of its executive team. Dan Katz will join TPR on September 17 as the media organization’s news director.
“With Dan, we’ve found a motivational and energetic leadership style, with a passion for quality journalism and an appetite for innovation,” says TPR President & CEO Joyce Slocum. “I look forward to working with Dan on a strategic vision that drives TPR’s reporting to a new level of excellence.”
In his role at TPR, Katz will lead the organization’s news and journalism efforts, overseeing the newsroom’s day-to-day management and the development of a strategic vision for the news division. He will also serve on the organization’s executive leadership team. TPR’s news team currently has 16 staff members, including reporters dedicated to in-depth coverage of subjects including Arts & Culture, Bioscience & Medicine, Education, Technology & Entrepreneurship, Military & Veterans Issues and State Government.
“I am proud and honored to join TPR and to become a member of the San Antonio community,” says Katz. “I look forward to continuing and building upon a tradition of reliable, distinctive journalism alongside a team that is truly dedicated to serving the audience.”
Most recently, Katz served as the news director of WSHU Public Radio. Based in Fairfield, Connecticut, WSHU serves 300,000 weekly listeners in Connecticut, Long Island and New York’s Hudson Valley. At WSHU, Katz managed a 15-person newsroom and helped launch the organization’s business desk, podcasts and its first daily talk show. While there, he created the station’s news fellowship program for student journalists of diverse backgrounds. Previously, Katz worked as reporter, producer and on-air host at WUFT-FM and WUFT-TV in Gainesville, Florida.
In October 2018, TPR celebrates 30 years since its founding and begins construction on a new headquarters. Scheduled to be completed in late 2019, the state-of-the-art facility in the city center will encourage increased community engagement and provide an opportunity to enhance and expand primary services. The headquarters is part of an overall project to restore and redevelop the Alameda Theater and its adjacent complex in collaboration with the City of San Antonio, Bexar County and the Alameda Theater Conservancy.
Recently, TPR’s reporting has received several awards for excellence in journalism, including 14 Lone Star Awards presented by the Houston Press Club in June, three 2018 First Amendment Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists – Ft. Worth Chapter, and a Barbara Jordan Media Award presented by the Office of the Governor’s Committee on People With Disabilities to Paul Flahive. Also, in April, TPR was recognized with regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for “breaking news” coverage of the church shooting in Sutherland Springs and for “hard news” coverage in “Questions Rise About Manuel Medina's Many Roles In Bexar County Democratic Party” by David Martin Davies. Awarded by the Radio Television Digital News Association, the Edward R. Murrow Award is among the highest honors recognizing broadcast journalism excellence.