Ce ebriti
the Agency for Jewish
Education to develop an
internal television sys-
tern, moved to the area
knowing only one family.
"From the beginning, I
felt very welcome in the
community, especially the
Jewish community," she
said. "I met one of my
closest friends through
The Jewish News. She
was advertising for a
roommate. I called her,
and as it turned out, she
had already rented the
apartment. She had a
roommate, but we became
very good friends."
Mr. Huckman, who
moved to Michigan in
1991, appreciated being
asked to open the ark
when attending holiday
services at Congregation
Beth Abraham Hillel
Moses. He said he has not
found problems adjusting
to any locale in which he
has lived: "The hard part
is not coming to a new
city; it's leaving all the
friends behind."
SPORTS
Don Shane and Eli
Zaret, both sports direc-
tors and anchors at their
stations, plan their
reports to be much more
than straight forward an-
nouncements of scores.
"In our sports depart-
ment, we have been very
successful in breaking a
lot of what we consider to
be major sports stories,"
said Mr. Shane, who was
a broadcaster in six other
cities before joining -
WXYZ in 1989.
"Sports is fun, and
that's what we try to
make it. We do joke
around, and we do run
funny plays. We can't
take the games all that
seriously, but there are
stories that come up that
we do take seriously."
Mr. Zaret, who worked
in New York between jobs
in Michigan, said he likes
to be controversial.
"I feel it's important,
for my style and what I
am, to keep apprised of
the issues in sports," he
said. "I could watch
games come on the air
every night and report
what happened factually.
I could show the high-
lights — this basket, that
basket, this touchdown...
"Because I came into
this from a journalistic
standpoint, I got into the
issues and why things
happen and why teams
act the way they do and
what trends there are in
this particular sport or
that."
Both were intrigued
with sports from the time
they were young.
Mr. Shane participated
in athletics, encouraged
by his father who was an
enthusiastic player and
took his son to many
games. The tradition con-
tinues with the sports-
caster's own children,
who join their dad at the
Jewish Community Cen-
ter, where he plays bas-
ketball and racquetball.
Mr. Zaret works at
keeping fit and enjoys
tennis and golf.
Both say the most excit-
ing events they have cov-
ered occurred early in
their careers. Mr. Shane
thinks the aura and
atmosphere of champi-
onship boxing is special
because, unlike other
sports, the fights can be
over at any time. Mr.
Zaret recalls the Lake
Placid Olympics and the
1984 World Series as very
impressive.
While Mr. Zaret, a
University of Michigan
media communications
graduate, says travel and
reporting from different
time zones is the toughest
part of his job, Mr. Shane,
a political science gradu-
ate of the University of
Maryland with a master's
degree in journalism from
the University of Colo-
rado, thinks back to
events he has had to
cover for 10-12 hours and
then be at his best the
last five minutes of the
day, when he is on the
air.
Still, what stands out
for them — just like the
news reporter — is the
human factor.
" I was working at a
station in Evansville,
Ind., when the basketball
team from the University
of Evansville died in a
plane crash," recalled Mr.
Shane, who set aside that
day's broadcast to do a
tribute instead. "I knew
those people very well,
and it was clearly the
most difficult moment in
my broadcasting career."
Both men, married with
two children, feel well-
rooted in the community
and enjoy spending free
time with their families.
They make time for
speaking engagements
and working on events
associated with the
Jewish Sports Hall of
Fame.
Mr. Shane, who takes
on a great variety of caus-
es when he selects a Dare
Don activity (a viewer
request for his participa-
tion in an unusual event),
also led the Yad Ezra
Walk.
FEATURES
Warren Pierce, who has
worked in metro Detroit
broadcasting for 25 years,
brings the magazine for-
mat to TV ("Eyewitness
Weekend") as well as
radio (WJR's "Midday
Magazine").
"I've always been inter-
ested in the news, and
I've always had a fascina-
tion with travel," said the
former rock 'n' roll disc
jockey and producer of
"The Lou Gordon Show."
He has covered royal wed-
dings in England, trade
meetings in China and
Rose Bowl games in
California.
Each week, Mr. Pierce
Going Places
A sample of Jewish
communal events:
MAR. 16
Shaarey Zedeli
Jewish Music Month
concert, 7:30 p.m.,
Eli Eban, Yehudi
Hanani and Fedora
Horowitz, free.
MAR. 20
Warren Pierce
Cheryl Chodun
Mike Huckman
New World String
Quartet, 8:30 p.m.,
Birmingham Temple.