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.

