WGRT radio sent its star reporter, Jessie Wiegand, to PodFest Expo in Orlando over the weekend and experienced an unexpected result. After hitting it off with The Onion’s founder, Scott Dikkers, Wiegand accepted a position as lead reporter for the satirical news company.
Dikkers spoke at PodFest and met Wiegand after his talk when she cut in line to meet him and interrupted the person in front of her. After observing her spunk and disregard for common human decency, Dikkers asked about her career.
Wiegand described her role as a dearly loved local celebrity in her hometown of Port Huron, Michigan, and Dikkers was amazed at her poise and self confidence.
“This is the kind of person we’re always looking for at The Onion,” he said. “We need people who are willing to push to the front of the line and position themselves as authority figures. I was also mesmerized by Wiegand’s midwestern accent that has just a touch of Canadian twang. She’ll be a perfect fit in our newsroom.”
WGRT station owner and president Marty Doorn said Wiegand will be missed at the radio station. “Jessie will be hard to replace. There aren’t many people who are equipped to cover the complex and deeply nuanced news stories we have in the Blue Water Area.”
Wiegand is best known for her riveting Facebook coverage of the grand opening of a downtown grocery store and her ability to correctly pronounce the name of St. Clair County health department official, Dr. Annette Mercatante.
When asked why she decided to take the leap and work with The Onion, Wiegand said, “I’ll miss my fans and the opportunities I’ve had to grow as a journalist at WGRT. Marty has given me so much freedom to explore my talent as a reporter, and it’s time for me to take those skills to the next level of professional news writing.”
Fans of Wiegand’s work at WGRT can rest assured that they won’t have to wonder who will fill her shoes for long. Most of this story has been made up or exaggerated, and Wiegand will be back to work on Tuesday after she fulfills her lifelong dream of visiting Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando.
For more information about Scott Dikkers and The Onion, Visit Scott’s website here:
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
