East Lansing, MI; June 20, 2025 | WKAR Senior Director of Station Operations Brant Wells has been named co-chair of the PBS Interconnection Working Group (IWG). The group supports nationwide emergency alert services and content distribution by representing the needs of all Interconnection partners and providing ongoing support and advice to the PBS Interconnection Team.
The Next Generation of Interconnection System (NGIS), also called Interconnection or sIX for short, is the backbone of public media’s distribution network and provides vital connectivity within the public media ecosystem. The Interconnection system provides lifesaving emergency alerts and communications across the country via PBS’s Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN). The system also facilitates content exchange among PBS, national program distributors, individual stations, and joint master control facilities to provide programming for viewers locally and nationwide.
"At WKAR, we’re proud to be a local part of the Interconnection system, delivering trusted programs to our community and supporting critical services like emergency alerts,” Wells said. “I’m honored to step into this new role and work alongside PBS and station leaders nationwide to ensure the Interconnection network continues to evolve and support the growing needs of stations and the communities they serve.”
Wells also serves on the PBS Engineering and Technology Advisory Council (ETAC), the Digital Distribution Working Group (DDWG), and the PBS Local Presence Working Group. He also serves as a career mentor through both the PBS Mentor Program and the PBS Accelerate Mentor Program.
He previously served as chair of the PBS Digital Media Advisory Committee (DMAC).
Before coming to WKAR in 2016, Wells spent eleven years as a post-production specialist in Los Angeles and Florida. He is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Communications-Media Production.