Rick’s Weekly Newsletter | Rick Gevers & Associates

May 31, 2026

Greetings:

For a short week, this is a long newsletter with lots of news.

THREE new news directors were named again this week, with TWO openings.

Our count of ND openings stands at 25.

We have FOUR ads this week, TWO of them new, and ONE for a terrific opportunity in Washington, DC. We also have ads for these positions:

A news director job at a legacy midwest station.
The GM job at the University of Missouri’s KOMU-TV.
Director of News and Public Affairs at Arizona’s PBS

And BARRY NASH and TIM HELLER, who have supported our efforts for years, are back with ads. Please check them out below.

There are THREE obituaries, including ONE for a former San Francisco ND and ONE for a 20 year ABC News producer with an unusual distinction.

But wait! There’s more!

Big changes at 60 Minutes and the network is talking a lot of fire for several different moves, including telling is morning ‘newscast’ to ignore news about the network.
A new CEO at Tegna and several upper management departures as the company await a court ruling on the proposed Nexstar acquisition.
It’s awards week, apparently, with both RTDNA and NATAS revealing winners.
And Sinclair names a new GM in Iowa.

See you next week!

Newly Named News Directors:

Olsen

WCIA-TV, Champaign, IL…veteran news director ERIC OLSEN is moving here to be closer to family, leaving another Nexstar station, WHBF-TV in Rock Island, IL. He’s a former ND in Norfolk and New Bern, NC, and has worked in Greensboro, Boston, Toledo, Louisville, Dayton, and Peoria, and began as a photographer in Decatur. Eric replaces new mom MAGGIE GRINESTAFF who left last month to spend more time with her two kids.

Wagner

KHGI, KPTM, KFXL-TV, Lincoln, Hastings, Kearney, NE…CHRISTIAN WAGNER is being promoted to ND for these stations, owned by Sinclair and branded as NTV Nebraska. General Manager JOHN HANNON passed along this note with more about Christian’s background and his new role. He’s been the Assistant News Director here since 2017. He replaces ANDREW DONLEY who spent 3+ years as ND here.

Ducre

WXXV-TV, Gulfport, MS…CASEY DUCRE has been promoted to ND for this Morris Multimedia operation: FOX, NBC, CW, and MyNetwork. She’s a 12 year veteran here, starting as a production assistant, then director, then production supervisor. My records show RICK BOONE left here in early 2025 after a restructuring. I reached out to Casey, asking if there was someone in between, but have not heard back.

New News Director Openings:

Williams

KAKE-TV, Wichita, KS…DAVID WILLIAMS is leaving this Lockwood Broadcasting owned ABC affiliate for family reasons. He will leave later this summer after five years as ND here. Earlier David was the ND for Lockwood’s WFXG-TV in Augusta, GA, was an ND in Lubbock and Lake Charles, and worked in Montgomery and Huntsville. Learn more about this opportunity in the Paid Help Wanted ad below.

WHBF-TV, Rock Island, IL…you learned above that ERIC OLSEN is leaving this Nexstar station to be closer to family as the new ND for Nexstar’s WCIA-TV in Champaign, IL. He’s been at WHBF for five years.

Help Wanted Ads:

Market President, Hubbard DC, Washington, DC:

Hubbard DC, which includes WTOP, Federal News Network and 2060 Digital, is committed to reporting relevant news for the DC region. Through continuously evolving brands, we connect consumers with advertisers across a growing number of distribution platforms including radio, podcasts, social media, and websites. We do this with a commitment to our community…while growing our people and profits.

Hubbard DC is looking for a new Market President to take the reigns after the incumbent retires later this year after over 30 years with the station group. We are looking for someone who can:

Lead the market as its senior executive
Champion uncompromising news integrity and public trust
Lead a high‑performing executive team
Own the market’s strategic plan
Drive sustained revenue and profitability
Maintain full P&L and financial management responsibility
Oversee integrated market operations
Ensure regulatory compliance and risk management
Serve as the senior market representative

This highly compensated role has a salary range of $300,000 to $600,000 plus bonuses based upon experience. To see the full job description including qualifications and to apply for this unique opportunity, please follow this link:

Market President Posting

To learn more about Hubbard Broadcasting, please follow this link:

Home – Hubbard Broadcasting

News Director, KAKE-TV, Wichita, KS:

KAKE and KAKE.com, Wichita’s legacy ABC affiliate, has an immediate opening for a News Director to lead a dedicated team of journalists and photojournalists in one of America’s most livable cities. Our current News Director is relocating this summer, creating this rare opportunity with a family-owned broadcast company.

KAKE produces 40+ hours of local television news each week and embraces a screen-agnostic approach to coverage through our website, two mobile apps, streaming video channels, broadcast television stations, and social media platforms and, as a result, enjoys a leadership position in the market with digital audience engagement.

The successful candidate will have a proven track record of audience growth and will understand how to best utilize our social media and digital platforms to that end.

We are committed to excellence in journalism. The primary responsibility of the News Director is to oversee all aspects of our news operation and ensure all KAKE journalists are timely, accurate, and unbiased in their reporting on all platforms. We seek someone who shares that expectation of excellence and can demonstrate their ability to lead strong teams.

You’ll lead efforts to build, train, inspire and retain a top-notch staff of diverse, competitive, driven high-performers. You’ll need to be aggressive in adjusting resources to meet the demand of a shifting local news marketplace.

Interested candidates can apply to:

Mark Kurtz
Corporate Director of News
Lockwood Broadcast Group
mkurtz@lockwoodbroadcast.com

No telephone calls please

General Manager, KOMU-TV, Columbia, MO:

Director of News and Public Affairs, Arizona PBS:

Arizona PBS is expanding its news and public affairs content offering to better serve the fast-growing Phoenix and greater Arizona markets.

To do that, we’re looking for an experienced, strategic, and innovative Director of News and Public Affairs to lead our newsroom and public affairs content efforts across broadcast, digital, and emerging platforms.

The ideal candidate is a mission-driven newsroom leader who understands the evolving role of journalism, particularly that played by non-profit newsrooms and public media.

This is not a “business-as-usual” news leadership role. Our ideal hire must be an exceptional journalist, collaborative leader, and forward-thinking media professional who can guide teams through an evolving media landscape while maintaining the highest standards of editorial integrity.

The Director of News and Public Affairs will work closely with the Senior Director of Content to define and execute a strong editorial vision while leading a team of reporters, producers, editors, hosts, and student workers/interns.

Key priorities include growing digital news audiences, working with the Senior Director of Content to develop platform-specific content strategies, as well as collaboration and innovation with other non-profit news providers in Arizona.

Click here to apply at this link below before June 6.

News Management Openings:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

WFAA-TV, Dallas, TX (listed 5/25/26)
KGW-TV, Portland, OR (listed 5/25/26)
WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC listed 5/25/26)
WVTM-TV, Birmingham, AL (relisted 5/17/26)
WMBD-TV, Peoria, IL (relisted 5/25/26)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

WPIX-TV, New York, NY (Digital EP, listed 5/10/26)
WPHL-TV, Philadelphia, PA (Digital Content EP, listed 4/26/26)
KHOU-TV, Houston, TX (relisted 5/17/26)
WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH (Boston market) (listed 5/17/26)
KRON-TV, San Francisco, CA (listed 4/12/26)
WFTS-TV, Tampa, FL (listed 4/19/26)
KXTV, Sacramento, CA (relisted 5/17/26)
KSDK-TV, St. Louis, MO (relisted 5/17/26)
KSTU-TV, Salt Lake City, UT (listed 4/19/26)
WBAL-TV, Baltimore, MD (listed 5/17/26)
WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, OH (relisted 4/19/26)
WPBF-TV, W. Palm Beach, FL (listed 5/17/26)
WVEC-TV, Norfolk, VA (relisted 5/17/26)
KOCO-TV, Oklahoma City, OK (listed 5/17/26)
WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (relisted 5/17/26)
WBBH-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (listed 5/17/26)
WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, NY (relisted 5/17/26)
KTHV-TV, Little Rock, AR (relisted 5/17/26)
KARK/KLRT-TV, Little Rock, AR (Morning EP, relisted 3/29/26)
KJRH-TV, Tulsa, OK (listed 4/19/26)
KCCI-TV, Des Moines, IA (listed 5/17/26)
WBTW-TV, Myrtle Beach, SC (Digital EP, listed 5/25/26)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (relisted 5/17/26)
KBMT-TV, Beaumont, TX (relisted 5/17/26)
WETM-TV, Elmira, NY (Digital EP, listed 5/2/26)

Other News Management Openings:

Listed 5/25/26:

KOMU-TV, Columbia, MO (General Manager, see ad above!)
Arizona PBS, Phoenix, AZ (Dir. of News & Public Affairs, see ad above!)

Listed 5/3/26:

WRAL-TV, Raleigh, NC (Senior Producer, Nighttime Newscast)
WRAL-TV, Raleigh, NC (Newscast Producer)

Relisted 4/19/26:

KMGH-TV, Denver, CO (Digital Director)
KXAN-TV, Austin, TX (Digital Director)

Listed 4/12/26:

University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (GM of Student Broadcast Media and Instructor)

Obituaries:

Ramsey

DOUG RAMSEY, a one time news director and anchor, Senior VP of FACS, and an author who wrote widely about jazz (in addition to be a trumpeter himself) died May 19th at the age of 91. Doug had a long career in TV, working as a news director in San Francisco, New Orleans, and San Antonio. He also anchored in New York and several other large markets. His obituary has more about his life, and his very detailed Linkedin page tells all.

Kraus

KEVIN KRAUS, who spent more than 20 years as a producer for ABC News before retiring in 2023, died yesterday at the age of 66. He also worked for stations in Chicago, and for two stations in Miami. You’ll learn in his obituary that he was one of the world’s longest survivors of HIV/AIDS. He is survived by his husband, SCOTT STACHOWIAK, who also worked for ABC and CNN before moving into media relations.

LAWRENCE SMITH, a one-time news director for WCTV in Tallahassee, FL, died May 26th. He was 88 years old.

Names in the News (and other stuff):

Here’s the latest in what appears to be our new segment, “This Week in CBS”.

The company named a new EP for 60 Minutes, NICK BILTON. Like Editor-in-Chief BARI WEISS, he has no prior television experience. (If my parents were alive, they’d be asking why they sent me to college.)

Bilton’s hire meant the end of a 30 year 60 Minutes career for EP TANYA SIMON. Also shown the door, correspondents SHARON ALFONSI and CECELIA VEGA. More from Mediaite.

Alfonsi and Vega did not go quietly.

Even a high school student who was awarded a scholarship named for former 60 Minutes icon MIKE WALLACE opened fire with both barrels.

And the network has garnered negative publicity for ordering CBS Mornings to ignore STEPHEN COLBERT’s last show in its broadcast the morning after the finale. Thin skinned CBS brass were apparently unhappy with a ‘cold open’ Colbert did earlier, poking fun at CBS News’ failure to get anchor TONY DUKOUPIL a visa to China for the President’s summit there.

Miss that segment? Here it is.

It was a big week for award announcements.

NATAS handed out the National News and Documentary EMMYs. Here’s the full list. Please note TWO local stations were honored, Gray’s KMOV-TV in St. Louis and Hearst’s WDSU-TV in New Orleans. You have to go through 17 pages of national winners, to the very end of the list, to find the two local winners.

And RTDNA announced the winners of Regional EDWARD R. MURROW awards. The Regional winners now become eligible for national Murrow awards to be announced in August, with winners recognized at a gala in New York October 12th.

Labbe

Old friend (make that friend of long-standing) BLAISE LABBE is recovering from surgery that makes me shudder just reading about it. Many of you know Blaise, who’s a Group News Director for Sinclair Broadcasting. He’s been dealing with some back issues and underwent not one but two major surgeries. He detailed his situation in this note. You could return the favor with a kind note via email to Blaise.

Adams

STEPHEN ADAMS has left Tegna after more than ten years in a variety of roles. Most recently he was a Talent Acquisition Partner and Co-Lead of the company’s producer in residence and internship programs. He’s taking a job out of television with a company working on AI marketing. Stephen sent me this note outlining his new role and recapping his experiences at Tegna.

ANDREW EPPERSON has been promoted to Assistant ND for Nexstar’s WGMB/WVLA-TV in Baton Rouge, LA.

General Manager News and Notes:

Paolini

We told you earlier this week that PATRICK PAOLINI has left FOX to become CEO of Tegna. Here’s the news release from Tegna. Of note: it’s the first news release posted to its website in almost three months as the company is essentially in limbo while the courts decide the future of the attempted Nexstar acquisition. And this story from Deadline.com offers a little perspective.

Roark

The announcement of Paolini’s hire came just one day before another change in the Tegna executive ranks. Former ND and GM ADRIENNE ROARK, who’s been the Senior VP and Chief Content Officer for Tegna for the last 15 months of so, announced she’s leaving the company, putting the news in this Linkedin post. Also leaving: the CFO, the Chief Strategy Office, and the Chief Experience Officer.

Sinclair named KEVIN BEARD General Manager of KGAN/KFXA-TV in Cedar Rapids, IA,

Our List of Open News Director Jobs:

Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, May 31, 2026:

It’s unofficial, there may be others that are open, and some of these may have been filled. If you know of any in either category, please let me know: rick@rickgevers.com

WPVI-TV 4100 City Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19131
KIRO-TV 2807 Third Avenue Seattle, WA 98121
KMGH-TV 2323 Delgany St, Denver, CO 80203
KSDK-TV 1001 Highlands Plaza Dr. St. Louis, MO 63110
WKRN-TV 441 Murfreesboro Pike Nashville, TN 37210
WBFF-TV 2000 W 41st St Baltimore, MD 21211
KOKH/KOCB-TV 1228 E. Wilshire Blvd. Oklahoma City, OK 73111
WAVE-TV 725 S. Floyd St. Louisville KY 40203
WLKY-TV 1918 Mellwood Ave. Louisville, KY 40206
WGNO-TV 1 Galleria Blvd, Suite 850 Metairie LA 70001
KOKI-TV 2625 S Memorial Dr, Tulsa, OK 74129
KREM-TV 4103 S Regal St Spokane WA 99223
KAKE-TV 1500 N. West St. Wichita, KS 67203 (see ad above!)
KLEW-TV 2626 17th St, Lewiston, ID 83501
KNVO-TV, 801 North Jackson Rd., McAllen TX 78501 **
KCEN-TV 215 N. 3rd Street Temple, TX 76501
KKTV 3100 N Nevada Ave, Ste B, Colorado Springs, CO 80907
WSIL-TV 1416 Country Aire Drive Carterville, IL 62918
WHBF-TV 231 18th St. Rock Island, IL 61201
KNDU-TV 3312 W. Kennewick Ave. Kennewick, WA 99336
WCBI-TV 201 5th Street South Columbus, MS 39701
KRIS-TV 301 Artesian Street Corpus Christi, TX 78401
KBMT-TV 525 Interstate 10 South, Beaumont, TX 77701
KIFI-TV 1915 N Yellowstone Hwy Idaho Falls, ID 83401
KAVU-TV. 3808 N Navarro St. Victoria, TX 77901

**: Spanish language station

May 25, 2026

Wednesday, May 27, 2026 UPDATE:

Greetings:

The first of what may be many changes at Tegna happened today.

Roark

ADRIENNE ROARK, who’s been the Senior VP and Chief Content Officer for Tegna since March, 2025, confirmed to me in an email late this afternoon that she has left the company. Her Tegna bio is still online, (but for how long)? Her updated Linkedin page already reflects her departure. Adrienne’s move comes just one day after Tegna named PATRICK PAOLINI as CEO of Tegna while it awaits the resolution of Nexstar’s attempt to buy the company.

On another front…check out this Facebook post from NPR Critic ERIC DEGGANS, commenting on a Mediaite report that CBS News bosses ordered CBS Mornings to ignore STEPHAN COLBERT‘s last show on its Friday broadcast. He suggests that the move might answer BARI WEISS‘ question about why American don’t trust journalists any more.

We’ll be back Sunday with our full newsletter, barring any more UPDATES.

regards,

Rick Gevers

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 UPDATE:

Greetings:

The seemingly never ending saga of Nexstar and Tegna has taken another turn.

Paolini

Tegna has named PATRICK PAOLINI as CEO. This story from Variety explains the twists in this move, as Tegna is currently a subsidiary of Nexstar, though Nexstar has been blocked by a court order from actually running Tegna. Patrick’s a veteran of Fox who, until last week, was EVP of Ad Sales for Fox Television Sales. He’s a former GM of FOX o-and-o’s in Washington and Philadelphia and worked at other FOX stations, as outlined in his Linkedin page.

This seems to me, at least, that Nexstar expects the litigation trying to block its acquisition of Tegna will take some time to be resolved.

Singer

One more item. Due to an editing error on my part, we had the wrong link to a story about the death of former KCBS-TV (Los Angeles) News Director MICHAEL SINGER.

Here is the correct link.

We’ll be back Sunday with our full newsletter, barring any more UPDATES.

regards,

Rick Gevers

**** ***** ****

Greetings:

I hope you had a great Holiday weekend.

As is our custom, we pay tribute to the winner of the Indianapolis 500, which was FELIX ROSENQVIST, who edged DAVID MALUKAS in the closest finish in the 110 previous races.

Photo by Bob Priddy – Missourinet

And my favorite fun fact about the race which I have shared before.

With a crowd of about 350,000, that means one in every 1,000 people in America was at the race.

On to our normal business.

THREE new news directors were named this week, with TWO openings, ONE created by an ND moving to the GM office at her station.

Our count of ND openings remains at 24.

We have THREE ads this week with perhaps the most diverse jobs we’ve ever had in one issue. Consider these opportunities:

The GM job at the University of Missouri’s KOMU-TV (Click on the ad and search for job 59610).
Director of News and Public Affairs at Arizona’s PBS
And the executive director for Investigative Reporters and Editors.

And because I know YOU want to know, the salary range for each job is listed in the ad, but you will have to click on the link to find out.

There are THREE new GMs in TWO cities.

There are TWO obituaries, including ONE for a former Los Angeles ND.

And more!

The New York Times publisher blasts CBS AND Nexstar in a speech about a free press.
Paramount went after websites that uploaded a public access show from Monroe, MI…because STEPHEN COLBERT made an appearance.
CBS News Radio went away this week.
A look at what might be ahead for CBS News this summer.
After eleven years, an Idaho newswoman returns to a newsroom.
Ever get a letter saying your qualifications for a job didn’t suffice, even though they exceeded them? You’ll commiserate with a sportscaster.
And the Boston Red Sox owned New England Sports Network pulled an ad for a Maine Senate candidate who trashed team management.

Enjoy your short week!

Newly Named News Directors:

Paez

Univision, Northern California…VIVIANA PÁEZ has been named Regional News Director for Univision Northern California. She’ll oversee stations in the Bay Area and Sacramento, where she has been working as an anchor and executive producer. Viviana replaces VLADIMIR ARAYA who left in March after a little more than a year in that role. More details in this story from Media Moves.

Dayton

WNDU-TV, South Bend, IN…RICK DAYTON takes over as ND for this Gray Media NBC affiliate. He shared the news on his Linkedin page. Rick had been the executive reporter at WRTV (ABC) in Indianapolis before Scripps sold to Circle City Broadcasting which laid off almost the entire news department. He’s a former anchor in Pittsburgh and West Virginia and also hosted a talk show on KDKA radio. Rick replaces GARY WORDLAW who left the station in March.

Ellis

WLUC-TV, Marquette, MI…this Gray Media owned NBC and FOX station has promoted DAVE ELLIS to be its next news director. He’s currently an EP there in his second stint at WLUC, and has also worked in Lansing as well as for Michigan State University, his alma mater. He replaces SHANNON KONOSKE who left in March after less than a year as ND.

New News Director Openings:

Stahlman

WLKY-TV, Louisville, KY…always like to share when a news director moves to the GM’s chair. So congrats to ANDREA STAHLMAN who’s been the ND here since 2012, first starting at this Hearst owned CBS affiliate as an intern, was hired as an assignment editor, then producer, EP, Assistant ND before become ND. She replaces GLENN HAYGOOD who is retiring after four decades in our business.

Merckx

KOKH/KOCB-TV, Oklahoma City…BARBARA MERCKX has left this Sinclair Broadcasting owned FOX/CW operation after just nine months on the job. Before that, she spent seven years on the faculty at the Gaylord College of Journalism at the Univeristy of Oklahoma where she spent some of that time as ND for a student led station. Her career has had several distinct stops as you’ll learn via her LinkedIn page.

Help Wanted Ads:

Director of News and Public Affairs, Arizona PBS:

Arizona PBS is expanding its news and public affairs content offering to better serve the fast-growing Phoenix and greater Arizona markets.

The ideal candidate is a mission-driven newsroom leader who understands the evolving role of journalism, particularly that played by non-profit newsrooms and public media.

Click here to apply at this link below before June 6.

Executive Director, Investigative Reporters & Editors:

Investigative Reporters & Editors is looking for an executive director with the vision to lead the world’s largest organization supporting investigative and data journalism. The position involves overseeing a dynamic organization with more than 4,200 members internationally, 13 staff members and dozens of volunteer contributors, as well as serving as a staff member at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.

For more than 50 years, IRE — a nonprofit organization — has led the journalism industry in supporting and training journalists and college students in techniques for investigative reporting and data analysis. The organization runs the world’s biggest conferences on investigative and data journalism – known respectively as IRE and NICAR. IRE provides training and resources for journalists in news organizations of all sizes, from rural U.S. communities to cities across the globe. Its website, ire.org, offers a growing portfolio of training tools, tipsheets, video tutorials and an extensive library of resources.

The right candidate will have experience in investigative journalism, management and fundraising, and an enthusiasm for evangelizing on behalf of investigative journalism and raising funds to support that mission. IRE is located in Columbia, Missouri, where candidates may have the option of moving or working remotely. This position may include teaching two classes per year at the School of Journalism. The position also involves considerable travel, both domestically and internationally.

Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Click here to learn more and apply.