22 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

F

or the last four decades,
if a story led our local
newscasts on WDIV-
TV Local 4, you can bet Marla
Drutz was among those who
knew about it
first. She’s had
what she describes
as a “front row,
50-yard-line-seat”
to daily news
events and history
in the making.
Now, the vice president and
general manager of Detroit’s
NBC affiliate is retiring after
holding the station’s top job
for 13 years. Her last day was
in mid-November.
“I’ve become very much in
awe of the coverage,” she says.
“So much work goes into put-
ting together a product that’s
fair and accurate. It’s been a
phenomenal ride. I don’t think
I could have asked for a better
career. It’s been the honor of
my life.”
Over the course of her
career, Drutz has been at
the epicenter of fast-paced,
high-intensity TV news oper-
ations at stations in Cleveland
and Detroit. She’s played
an integral role in research,
programming and TV sta-

tion management — making
critical decisions about what
and who you see on the air.
It’s unusual for a woman, let
alone a Jewish woman, to
serve as a TV station general
manager. Drutz has led the
way with grace and ease.
“Marla is a dynamic local
broadcaster who loves, eats
and breathes everything about
serving a local market,” Emily
Barr, president and CEO
of Graham Media Group,
WDIV’s parent company, said
in published reports. “She
consistently demonstrates
a keen ability to … create
engaging news and local
programming and increase
revenue while leading a man-
agement team dedicated to
growing ratings and uphold-
ing the highest standards of
journalistic integrity.”

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Drutz grew up in Louisville,
Kentucky, but Ohio was
the launching pad for her
career. She graduated from
Ohio University and earned
a master’s degree at what is
now Cleveland State. As she
was approaching graduation,
the school’s placement office

helped her land an entry-level
job as a research analyst at
WJKW-TV (now known as
WJW-TV). That’s where she
met the first of what she calls
her “patron menschen,” the
station’s general manager Bill
Flynn.
“He took me in, he schooled
me, he explained the indus-
try to me and made sure to
connect me with people at the
station who could teach me,”
she says. “I’ve been fortunate
throughout my career to have
people who have been so
gracious and kind to me, and
I’ve tried to pass it on. I feel
I have an obligation to pay it
forward.”
In 1984, when Flynn got
transferred to WJBK-TV (now
Fox 2 News) in Detroit, he
brought along some of his all-

star team members and that
included Marla. Her then-
boyfriend (now long-time
husband) Ron Kaplovitz came
along with her, and they built
a life together in the Motor
City, joining Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield
and raising a son who attend-
ed Hillel Day School.
“There’s no greater hospi-
tality than Midwestern hos-
pitality — especially among
the Jewish community,” she
says. “That made it easy for
us to fall in love with Metro
Detroit.”
Drutz worked as research
director and marketing direc-
tor for WJBK then became
research and program director
for Detroit’s ABC affiliate,
WXYZ. After 20 years there,
Channel 4 came calling with

Marla Drutz

OUR COMMUNITY

WDIV-TV General Manager
Marla Drutz retires after 40 years
in television.

“The Honor

of My Life”

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Marla was featured on the cover of the JN in January 2002.