is to provide value both for the station and underwriter.” For Ameigh, the most enjoyable part of his radio stint has been interacting with listeners. “WRVO has more than 5,000 active members at any one time, every one a passionate supporter of our mission,” he said. Ameigh said he has particular skill sets and strengths that have served him well as general manager of the radio station. Before coming to SUNY Oswego nearly three decades ago, he had been a commercial broadcaster, most recently owner-operator of small stations in New York and Pennsylvania. There, he sold advertising time and worked with program staff to generate excitement to attract listeners. “In many ways public radio has the same challenges — serving audiences and, just as important, generating enough revenue to pay for it all,” he said. Ameigh said he is confident that he can step aside since there are “great people here to carry it on and that is important.” “I feel after a period of decompression, I will probably get back into the radio side somehow,” he said. “WRVO is one of the most successful radio stations in all of public radio in the country. It’s just been a great experience.”
Dream retirement In retirement, Ameigh wants to get his video camera back out and pursue his passion of nature videography. He also wants to return to research and writing. He resides in Liverpool with his wife Michele and also has a home in Anthem, Ariz. The couple has been married for 38 years and has four children and five grandchildren. His wife retired as a schoolteacher six years ago. Ameigh came to SUNY Oswego in 1990 to teach courses to communication students interested in pursuing careers in media management. “I came to SUNY Oswego to teach, my first love,” he said. “That I have ended my career as primarily an administrator is a happy coincidence. The accomplishments I cherish most are those I was able to pull off in the classroom as a teacher of undergraduates.” Once he retires, Ameigh said he intends on spending more of his time in Arizona. He has children in Phoenix, Ariz., JUNE/JULY 2017
New York City, Boulder, Colo. and Syracuse. “We’re not looking to leave but are looking to sell the house and get into something smaller. It’s typical of people in our situation,” he said. The couple is still investigating where they want to move. “We were both born and raised in Upstate New York, and love it here,” Ameigh said. “We’re not in any rush to do anything. We’re looking to get into some kind of situation so we can go back and forth from Arizona to wherever we land,” he said. Ameigh is intensely into birding. “Arizona is just a terrific state for that because it’s so varied. People think of Arizona as a desert, but you just go an hour north of where we are, and you are up a couple thousand feet and you’re in a completely different ecozone,” he said. Last year, the Ameighs visited Europe and did a river cruise through Holland and Belgium, home to Michael’s maternal side of the family. “It was just a lot of fun. We’d like to do more of that and see more of the world,” he said.
Leaving a legacy One of the more memorable experiences for Ameigh is meeting and working with the late Garrick Utley, a renowned television journalist best known for his work with NBC. Later in his career, Utley was a professor of broadcasting and journalism at SUNY Oswego. “He was an adjunct professor in our media program, which is what my professorial association is with the college,” Ameigh said. “One day, much to my surprise, he walked into my office and asked, ‘How can I help?’” Utley would go on to produce an award-winning radio documentary, “New York and the World,” along with producer Sidsel Overgaard during his stint in Oswego. He also recalls when the British Broadcasting Co. sent a young reporter — Fergus Nicholl — to SUNY Oswego for a week to work with Ameigh and students. It was during the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City, and Nicholl interviewed students who were demonstrating on campus at the time. When Ameigh tuned in to BBC that OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS
Ameigh was featured on the cover of the April-May 2011 issue of Oswego County Business, right after being named general manager at WRVO. same evening, Nicoll’s report was being broadcast across its network, listened to by some 40 million people. Ameigh was also instrumental in building up WRVO’s reach. During his tenure, four new signals have become available in Clayton, Ithaca, Rome and Fenner. “Having been a commercial broadcaster myself years ago, I can tell you it’s such a different and much more productive environment for really keeping people informed,” Ameigh, said. In the private sector, “something on the order of half your time is devoted to commercials, and you are really focused on selling those commercials because you’re in that business,” he said. “In commercial broadcasting, you are attracting an audience that will sit through those commercials,” he said. “Here, it’s a completely different mindset. When our listeners hear a new underwriter — which is essentially getting their name out in front of our highly educated and in many cases affluent audience — and that’s a value to them, the audience is quick to go and tell them, “Thank you for supporting WRVO’.”
One with campus As a professor, nothing has been more rewarding to Ameigh than working with undergraduates who became polished professionals and went on to 79