Willie Barnman
Willie Barnman (18 Jan 1983 – 7 May 2026) was a weekend/filling reporter for WRQ. He started at WRQ in 2018 and continued until his death at 2026. He also was a weekend reporter for CNN and contributed to PBS and Macomb County TV.
2019 April Fools Day
Willie reported on the April Fool’s Day joke done by Benji Holt. He was at the studio due to Rod Cambridge being on assignment.
2021 Eastern US Supernatural Tragedy
While Rod Cambridge was on suspension, Willie Berman covered his lunchtime shift and reported on the morning’s incident in Leonard, Michigan. Later that week, Willie was on the field and had reported on the situation at the Golden Corridor in Sterling heights. Or as some of the residents would call it, The Golden Butthole of Macomb County. He also had to shelter in place at a local restaurant when the threat was extreme.
2024 Ventana Nuclear Plant Incident
On the following morning, Willie interviewed a elderly man who was at the shelter in Ann Arbor. The man recounted his woes and his troubling times to willie. Afterwards, the elderly man got hostile towards him for shoving the phone at his face. Willie backed away from him and send it back to the studio.
2024 Heat Wave
While Rod Cambridge was at the 2024 presidential debate at the Fox Theatre, Willie covered for him in the studio. He reported on the current Heat Wave and the other incidents during the Nationwide situation. Sometime after this heatwave, Willie went to CNN as a weekend reporter.
2025 Pacific Coast Earthquakes
On 9 August 2025, Barnman covered the multiple earthquakes at rattled much of the Pacific Coast. He covered the arrest of both Caitlyn Jenner and Ye (formerly known as Kanye West.) While covering that news, Willie was having troubles with the proper pronouns of both Caitlin and Ye. This led to him being replaced by another reporter right away and the CNN ticker announcing his termination just a minute afterwards.
Later, CNN anchor Don Lime told whom he believed was Ron Cambridge that Willie lost his job due to this trouble with gender pronouns.
2026 Detroit Zombie Incident
While on his way to WRQ, he witnessed a van throwing out a canister of the z86 virus in liquid form. The airborne virus got into Willie’s car before he could roll down roll up the windows. While travelling on Gratiot Avenue, Willie transition into the zombie Lake state. He had lost control of his car and crash into a party store. Rod Cambridge reported Willie’s death some hours at later. Is unclear whether the crash itself killed him.
Personal Life
Willie could be seeing as an optimist and looks as situations in a positive way. Such as reporting that Macomb County TV has a Devastation Template for zombies which makes he and Shawn Haws laugh and Willie says, “like that would ever happen.” Four months later, zombies did arrive. During the start of the 2026 zombie incident, Willie was in denial of the canisters being stolen from the Macomb County municipal building.
Notably, Willie had some social problems. The bikers from the Black Phantoms Motorcycle Club had asked Rod about this. Willie, as noted by Rod, is a fan of marijuana. He also had a stuttering issue. Willie’s relationship status is unknown, but it appears he was trying to ask a woman out to a Tigers Baseball game prior to his death.
Trivia
Willie Barnman is voiced by Robbie Thomas.