Former Strategic Advisor, Programming and Audience Development
Israel Smith is WBEZ’s Managing Director, Programming and Audience Development, responsible for the overall schedule and sound of 91.5, and thinking about how to connect larger and more engaged audiences to Chicago Public Media. Israel’s been working nationaly in public media for thirty years, working on developing and launching programs like Radiolab, Marketplace, The Moth Radio Hour, and more. He comes to WBEZ from NPR in Washington DC, where he was Director of Programming and Sr. Director of Promotion. For years, Israel’s wife has been teasing him about, “the radio station he runs in his head.” Israel works across the newsroom and the wider organization to strengthen and deepen the value of the journalism provided by WBEZ for listeners throughout the region.
