Tanner Boyd named assistant news director at Morehead State Public Radio

Tanner Boyd (Class of 2016) has been named assistant news director at Morehead State Public Radio (MSPR), 90.3 FM, WMKY.   

Boyd, a native of Morehead, earned a bachelor's degree in multimedia production at MSU and worked at MSPR as a student and began working as a part-time reporter in 2018. Boyd will serve as the local anchor, host and producer of daily news programs including "Morning Edition," "Midday News" and "Mountain Edition." Other duties include conducting interviews, writing news stories, and producing long-form regional news reports. He will also recruit, train and supervise student staff members.   

"Tanner has worked hard as a student and as a part-time reporter. He deserves this promotion and recognition for his hard work. I was thrilled to be able to tell him about the promotion, and I am excited to see how having him here full-time will impact the station. He is already an asset to the station, and we are excited to expand his role here at MSPR," said Leeann Akers (Class of 2006, 07), news director at MSPR.   

"MSPR's listeners know of Tanner's work as an award-winning journalist and newscaster. We're excited to expand his role on our news team and offering the additional training to MSPR's student reporters," said MSPR General Manager Paul Hitchcock (Class of 1988).   

Boyd has won numerous awards for his work at the station, both as a student and a professional. They include:   

• 2015 - Best College Radio Newscast (Kentucky Associated Press)  
• 2016 - Best College Radio Newscast (Kentucky Associated Press  
• 2019 - Best Sports Reporting (Kentucky Associated Press)  
• 2021 – Second place, Best Investigative Reporting (Kentucky Broadcasters Association Impact Broadcast Awards)  

"I started here as a student in the summer of 2010, and I really admired how Morehead State Public Radio conducted itself as a news organization," Boyd said. "Something new I've enjoyed since returning to WMKY part-time a couple of years ago is working with the students in the newsroom. It's a cool thing seeing someone new come in without much idea of what they are doing, and after some guidance, becoming someone you can depend upon to assist in our news and sports productions," Boyd said.   

MSPR's mission is to provide regional programming that is educational, informative and entertaining. MSPR offers regional news, public affairs and documentary programming, with a variety of music programs consisting of classical, jazz and Americana.  

To learn more about MSPR, visit www.wmky.org, email Hitchcock at p.hitchc@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2001.