In a special final episode of “Norm & Company,” Norm Silverstein becomes the guest.
WXXI President Norm Silverstein will retire this year after 28 years at the helm of WXXI. In turning the tables on the very show where Norm has interviewed 22 guests, he sits down with Connections host Evan Dawson to discuss how his leadership transformed the station, his thoughts on the state of journalism in 2024, the documentaries produced over the years, and how public media enhances the lives of kids, families, and the community.
“I’ve never really thought much about my legacy, to be honest, but I always thought about the station. I wanted people to think about WXXI as being a place where they want to come to work — and being a place that makes a difference”.
– WXXI President Norm Silverstein
During his time, he has seen the organization grow from one television and two radio stations to a public media organization that now includes four public television stations, one cable channel for the city of Rochester, and six public radio stations. WXXI also operates the Little Theatre and CITY magazine. Norm is proud of how the organization has grown since he started in 1995, but what he’s most proud of is how WXXI and its various entities have been able to serve the Greater Rochester community.
Norm was recently interviewed by Randy Gorbman, of WXXI News and was asked about his mindset as he was coming to the end of his run as WXXI’s President: “We’re a much different station than we were when I got here 28 years ago, and of course, you’d expect that,” Norm said. “We have some terrific people, I think we’re respected for what we do, and people are going to continue to support us.”