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Willis Kern Email & Phone Number

Emeritus News Director (retired), WGLT at Illinois State University at WGCU Public Media

Location: Fort Myers, Florida, United States 7 work roles 2 schools

1 work email found @ilstu.edu 2 phones found area 309 LinkedIn matched

✓ Verified Jun 2026 4 data sources Profile completeness 100%

Current company

WGCU Public Media

Role

Emeritus News Director (retired), WGLT at Illinois State University

Location

Fort Myers, Florida, United States

Company size

38 employees

Who is Willis Kern? Overview

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Quick answer

Willis Kern is listed as Emeritus News Director (retired), WGLT at Illinois State University at WGCU Public Media, a company with 38 employees, based in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. AeroLeads shows a work email signal at ilstu.edu, phone signal with area code 309, and a matched LinkedIn profile for Willis Kern.

Willis Kern previously worked as Part-time fill-in host at Wgcu Public Media and Interim local host for NPR's Morning Edition at Wfyi Public Media. Willis Kern holds Bs, Mass Communication from Illinois State University.

Company email context

Email format at WGCU Public Media

This section adds company-level context without repeating Willis Kern's masked contact details.

{first_initial}{last}@ilstu.edu

76% confidence

AeroLeads found 1 current-domain work email signal for Willis Kern. Compare company email patterns before reaching out.

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Profile bio

About Willis Kern

I have been involved in radio, mostly full-time, since 1975. Upon graduation from Bloomington (IL) HS in 1974, I attended Brown Institute School of Broadcasting in Minneapolis, MN from 1974-75, where I earned my First Class FCC license. In 1975, I began working full-time as news reporter and play-by-play announcer for local high schools and Illinois Wesleyan University football and basketball on WAKC-AM, Normal,IL In 1976, I was named News Director/Farm Director/Sports Director. In fall of 1976 I enrolled at Illinois State University, seeking a Mass Communication degree. In 1977, I joined WJBC-AM as a part-time announcer. In 1980, I graduated from ISU and became a fulltime evening host at WJBC. I also co-hosted an evening sports talk call-in show and did some sports play-by-play, calling the first-ever high school basketball game played at ISU's Redbird Arena.In 1993, I left WJBC to become Assistant News Director at WGLT-FM, Normal (NPR-Illinois State University). In 1997, I became News Director. In addition to news reporting, hosting & supervising, I was the voice of ISU women's basketball & volleyball on WGLT for three years. Since 1997, WGLT has won dozens of awards for Journalism Excellence from the Illinois Associated Press, United Press International, Radio-Television Digital News Association (Edward R. Murrow Award), and Public Media Journalists Association. Named Best Downstate Reporter by IL Assoc. Press, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009. In May 2017, I retired from my position as WGLT News Dir. and spent one season hosting and producing the true-crime podcast Suspect Convictions, created by Scott Reeder. Following a stint as special correspondent, I relocated to Fort Myers, FL in 2022 and fill-in part time as host at WGCU-FM, NPR for SW FLA. From Nov. 2022 to Feb. 2023, I served as interim Morning Edition host for WFYI-FM, Indianapolis, which is simulcast on 3 other NPR stations in IN.

Listed skills include Broadcast Journalism, Adobe Audition, Wireready, State Politics, and 21 others.

Current workplace

Willis Kern's current company

Company context helps verify the profile and gives searchers a useful next step.

Wgcu Public Media

Emeritus News Director (retired), WGLT at Illinois State University

fort myers, florida, united states

Website

wgcu.org

Employees

38

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Company profile

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7 roles

Willis Kern work experience

A career timeline built from the work history available for this profile.

Part-Time Fill-In Host

Current

Wgcu Public Media

Fort Myers, Florida, United States

NPR for southwest Florida

Jan 2022 - Present

Interim Local Host For Npr'S Morning Edition

Wfyi Public Media

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Nov 2022 - Feb 2023

Host/Special Correspondent

Wglt

Aug 2017 - Dec 2021

News Director, Wglt

Illinois State University

Manage professional and student staff. Develop mission, goals and policies of the news department. Coordinate network/local programming. Supervise day-to-day activities, including newsgathering, writing, editing, production, hosting. Act as primary liaison with university and community newsmakers. Participate in on-air fund drive. Oversee multi-media.

Jun 1993 - May 2017

Announcer

Wjbc-Am

Part-time weekend and fill-in announcer, 1977-1980Full-time evening host, 1980-1993Sports talk host and play-by-play, 1980-1993

Jun 1977 - Jun 1993

News/Sports/Farm Director

Wakc-Am

News and sports reporter, play by play for high school and Illinois Wesleyan University sports.

Jun 1975 - Apr 1977

Request Phone Operator

Kdwb

St Paul, Minnesota, United States

Jan 1975 - Mar 1975

Team & coworkers

Colleagues at WGCU Public Media

Other employees you can reach at wgcu.org. View company contacts for 38 employees →

VF

Victoria Foltz Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaGreater Tampa Bay Area, United States View → JD

John Davis Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaFort Myers, Florida, United States, United States View → ER

Emma Rodriguez Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaEstero, Florida, United States, United States View → MG

Marc Garber Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaFort Myers, Florida, United States, United States View → BM

Bryant Monteilh Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaFort Myers, Florida, United States, United States View → DA

David A. Duke Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaFort Myers, Florida, United States, United States View → JG

Jaredjael Gonzalez Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaMiami-Fort Lauderdale Area, United States View → EK

Eileen Kelley Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaMiami-Fort Lauderdale Area, United States View → TB

Tom Bayles Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaFort Myers, Florida, United States, United States View → DH

Dayna Harpster, Ma Colleague at Wgcu Public MediaCape Coral Metropolitan Area, United States View →

2 education records

Willis Kern education

Bs, Mass Communication

Illinois State University

Radio Broadcasting, First Class Fcc License

Brown Institute School Of Broadcasting

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Willis Kern

Quick answers generated from the profile data available on this page.

What company does Willis Kern work for?

Willis Kern works for WGCU Public Media.

What is Willis Kern's role at WGCU Public Media?

Willis Kern is listed as Emeritus News Director (retired), WGLT at Illinois State University at WGCU Public Media.

What is Willis Kern's email address?

AeroLeads has found 1 work email signal at @ilstu.edu for Willis Kern at WGCU Public Media.

What is Willis Kern's phone number?

AeroLeads has found 2 phone signal(s) with area code 309 for Willis Kern at WGCU Public Media.

Where is Willis Kern based?

Willis Kern is based in Fort Myers, Florida, United States while working with WGCU Public Media.

What companies has Willis Kern worked for?

Willis Kern has worked for Wgcu Public Media, Wfyi Public Media, Wglt, Illinois State University, and Wjbc-Am.

Who are Willis Kern's colleagues at WGCU Public Media?

Willis Kern's colleagues at WGCU Public Media include Victoria Foltz, John Davis, Emma Rodriguez, Marc Garber, and Bryant Monteilh.

How can I contact Willis Kern?

You can use AeroLeads to view verified contact signals for Willis Kern at WGCU Public Media, including work email, phone, and LinkedIn data when available.

What schools did Willis Kern attend?

Willis Kern holds Bs, Mass Communication from Illinois State University.

What skills is Willis Kern known for?

Willis Kern is listed with skills including Broadcast Journalism, Adobe Audition, Wireready, State Politics, American Politics, Audiovault, Radio Broadcasting, and Radio Producing.

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