She’s back.
Jenny Olsen, a 1986 graduate of Brandon High School, has returned to hosting, producing and editing the ‘Michigan Out-of-Doors? show on PBS. She previously held the position for five-and-a-half years prior to leaving for Texas in January 2005 to work as editor and videographer on the nationally televised show ‘Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild.?
‘I got homesick for Michigan,? says Olsen, 40, who returned to the state in 2006 after a year in Texas. ‘I tried to start my own show, but ran out of time and money and worked on a couple other local shows.?
Last fall, Kelly Gotch, a Brandon graduate who replaced Olsen on the ‘Michigan Out-of-Doors? show when she left, accepted an offer to start her own national show, paving the way for Olsen to return on Jan. 1 as producer, co-host and editor of the show, which features stories about hunting, fishing and other outdoor pursuits in the state.
Olsen edits and produces the show in Lansing, but travels all over Michigan to tape segments. Since she has been back, she has interviewed Lisa Snelling, founder of the new magazine ‘Woman Hunter? and has taped a family ice fishing in Lake Orion. This weekend, she will record the show on Lake Erie, in an airboat because the ice on that lake is never completely safe.
‘We’re icefishing for walleye,? she explains. ‘It’s a riot, I love it. I can’t think of a more fun job to have. The most fun is meeting new outdoors people every week and going off on an adventure with them.?
‘Michigan Out-of-Doors? is different than other shows, she says, because rather than just showing a hunter in a tree stand, for example, they tell the story of what made him climb the tree in the first place and what got him to that point. The show also airs in a timely fashion and is relevant to the state. If they tape steelhead fishing on the Manistee River one weekend, it will air the following week.
The show has at least 250,000 viewers and can be seen all over the state, as well as in the northern sections of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and across Canada.
While there are many shows on hunting and fishing, the show also features canoeing, kayaking, wild game recipes, how-to ideas, and conservation-related segments. Olsen said a new segment this year called ‘Women in the Wild? will feature outdoors women around the state and she really enjoys doing segments with children.
‘We have a strong outdoor heritage here in Michigan that needs to be passed on to the next generation and it’s becoming a challenge, with everything that competes for a kid’s attention these days,? she said.
‘Michigan Out-of-Doors? can be viewed on PBS every Thursday, at 8:30, 9, or 9:30 p.m. depending on viewer location. To suggest a story idea or for more information,
e-mail: jgretzinger@mucc.org or call 517-346-6493.