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WHQR News Director Ben Schachtman and reporter Kelly Kenoyer unpack some of our recent reporting about Novant NHRMC: staff interviews and watchdog data show some concerning trends at the hospital, but the newest leadership team says things are improving. And, Rachel Keith helps explain FERPA, the federal law protecting student privacy, and how it might be overused to protect public information, including parental book challenges.

Jonah is a graduate student at UNCW majoring in English with a concentration in science and medical writing. He works for WHQR as the Operations Fellow, assisting in production and scheduling automation. Jonah lives in Wilmington with his girlfriend Jamie, their two cats Marty and Season, and their dog Dexter.

Lily Zukerman grew up in the Wilmington arts scene performing in local community theatre and, after receiving her Bachelors in Political Science from NC State University, she was itching to return to the vibrant and connected community that is so unique to our city. After graduation, Lily served with Communities in Schools of the Cape Fear as a Student Support Specialist at Holly Shelter Middle School, and spent her summers helping coordinate Freedom School in partnership with CIS and the Children’s Defense Fund. You can catch her onstage with many a local theatre company (Opera House Theatre Company’s summer stock veteran 15 years running!) or haunting local eateries looking for the next exciting special.

Around Town With Rhonda Bellamy: Make Music Wilmington

Samantha is a graduate student at UNCW majoring in English. She has a background in journalism, media marketing, and professional writing.

Leila Fadel, host of NPR's Morning Edition and the Up First podcast, came to Wilmington last month for WHQR's luncheon. On this episode of The Newsroom, we've got her keynote speech, a Q-and-A session with the audience, and a one-on-one interview with WHQR News Director Ben Schachtman.

Around Town With Rhonda Bellamy: Cammeron Batanides and Zerick Jones

Around Town With Rhonda Bellamy: Heather Wilson

Jon Berger lives in Wilmington with his wife Liz and his two amazing daughters Lillian (19) who is a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Eve (16) who is a junior John T Hoggard High School. In 2024 Jon was the Democratic candidate for North Carolina State Representative from District 20 in Wilmington. In September 2023 he retired from the U.S. Government after almost 30 years of service. From 1995 until 2002 he was a legislative policy aide in the U.S. Congress, serving first for Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY), and then for Senator Jack Reed (D-RI). In September 2002 he entered the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer. He and his family were posted abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark; Belgrade, Serbia; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Tel Aviv, Israel; as well as a domestic assignment in Washington, D.C. His final posting in the State Department - and what brought the family to Wilmington NC - was as a Foreign Policy Advisor to Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC) at Camp Lejeune, the largest US Marine Corps base in the world. He is the recipient of several State Department meritorious awards for his work overseas.

Since retiring in 2023 he joined the Board of Creating Friendships for Peace, a peace-building/dialogue group that brings teenagers from both sides of the conflict in Cyprus and Israel to the United States for a three week program and homestay with American families; he volunteers on the awards committee of the North Carolina Heroes Fund, a veteran service organization that provides financial assistance to veterans in need; and as of May 2025 he has joined the board of WHQR, Wilmington’s local affiliate station for National Public Radio.

On this episode: Rachel Keith recently hosted a panel for N.C. Project LEAD, asking elected officials and community leaders some tough policy questions. We’ll hear what they said about universal basic income, collective bargaining, and more. Plus, Nikolai Mather unpacks legislative efforts to fund school meals for all.