Jeff Murri's Colleagues Remember 'Great Man and Great Broadcaster'

I got a nice note from Lyle Schulze, VP and general manager at WCTI in Greenville-New Bern-Washington, NC, about Jeff Murri this morning.

Murri took his own life February 2. His colleagues and competitors recall him as a warm and energetic person and a gifted broadcaster; the WJBK Detroit GM was B&C’s General Manager of the Year in 2011. 

Schulze says we can share his remembrances of Jeff here; he says it “gives us a great opportunity to remember him for what he was to us–a great person and a great broadcaster.”

Others who knew Jeff are encouraged to send their own thoughts, either through the comments section or via email (mmalone@nbmedia.com).

Writes Lyle:

I read with interest your blog on remembering Jeff Murri. I became a fan of Jeff when I managed WSYM-TV FOX 47 in Lansing, MI. I reached out to Jeff on many occasions to share like practices. We even collaborated during the Detroit Tigers playoff/World Series run in 2006. I took Jeff’s 3 hour pre-game show prior to each of the games. He graciously gave me all of the inventory to sell. Afterwards we stayed in touch on a variety of matters. You were absolutely spot on about his charisma and overwhelming enthusiasm for the job. It would be hard to match Jeff blow for blow. I am very shocked to hear about his untimely death. These are hard jobs! Obviously, Jeff had a ton of weight on his shoulders. Thanks again for sharing with all of your readers what a truly wonderful person he was.

[banner art: MyFoxDetroit.com]

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.