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Michael Von Ende
Mike Von Ende's broadcast career began in Minneapolis while still a student at the University of Minnesota. Mike landed a radio editor's position in the pre-dawn hours at KSTP AM & FM, later moving to the television side as a reporter, editor and producer.
Four years later and with his new wife, Bev, in tow, Mike headed for WBZ-TV in Boston as Asst. News Director.
Another four years passed before he was promoted to News Director at KYW-TV in Philadelphia, then Asst. News Director at WTOP-TV in Washington during the incredible days of Watergate.
When Post-Newsweek purchased WFSB-TV in Hartford, Mike was asked to be its first news director and a few years later, to move to Detroit as News Director of WJBK-TV.
Eighteen years of television management led to his next position as Sr. Vice President of Operations for Metro Traffic Control as the company began its period of explosive growth.
A few years later, NIWS beckoned from Los Angeles where he was paired with Michael Bille and the start of their successful syndication firm, Michaels Media.
Mike is still married to Bev and they have two married daughters, three grandchildren, and a host of acquaintances through the broadcast industry.
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Michael Bille
Michael Bille's television career spans more than 30 years.
A Minneapolis native and University of Minnesota graduate, he began his career in front of the camera as a reporter, weathercaster and program host down the Interstate at KAAL-TV in Austin, Minnesota.
His experience there led to an anchor-reporter position at WQAD-TV in the Quad Cities. It was here that Bille was drawn to the management side of the business and took over as the stations news director in his late 20's.
In a little over 2 years, Bille and a talented station team took their newscasts from a distant third to first place while garnering several awards for reporting, photography and news coverage.
Following a successful run in the Quad Cities, Bille took on the challenge of running the news department at WKRN-TV, the ABC affiliate in Nashville. An aggressive staff there also captured a number of professional notices including the AP's Best Newscast in the Southeast award for 2 consecutive years.
Bille's final news management call came from WFLA-TV, the NBC affiliate and Media General owned station in Tampa. A great staff and a great news market (Bille still lives in Tampa) made it a hard decision, but a role in broadcasting more national in scope lured him to Warner Bros and their News Information Weekly Service (NIWS) in Los Angeles.
While at NIWS, he and Mike Von Ende (his future business partner) developed several news and information products and services that were syndicated to hundreds of television stations coast to coast.
In 1991 Bille and Von Ende decided it was time to take the knowledge, experience and nationwide contacts developed at Warner Bros to launch Michaels Media. For more than 15 years, Michaels Media has proudly developed and distributed a long list of successful and innovative projects and initiatives
Bille and his wife, Lois Greenbaum, live in Tampa and share a home with their standard poodle, Jackie.
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