New Salt Lake City g.m. has grizzly reputation

When Mike Dunn takes the helm today at University of Utah's KUED, he'll probably be the first pubcasting g.m. ever to have survived an attack by a 400-pound grizzly bear. Dunn still has small scars on the corner of his mouth and near his wrist from the 1994 attack at Grand Teton National Park; the big scars "are on my back where you can see the claw marks," he told the Salt Lake City Tribune. The head of the search committee had asked Dunn if he was "tough enough" for the job, to which he replied, "Well, you know, I did survive a bear attack." Dunn has never run a station but has been active at the Salt Lake City PBS affiliate for 28 years, hosting pledge drives and serving on its board of directors. He also produced documentaries for KUED through his Dunn Communications advertising firm. He was inspired to go into advertising decades ago by watching adman Darrin Stevens on the 1964-72 sitcom Bewitched. "Isn't it funny how TV molds you?" Dunn mused.