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January 25, 2026

Greetings:

We’re a little late tonight (again!) due to travel, but we do have some ND movement to report, with TWO new news directors and FOUR new openings.

Our list of open ND jobs inches slightly higher to 24.

We have a new paid ad for an Assistant ND in one of the hottest news markets in the country. It’s also one of the coldest markets in the country. That’s below.

There’s also a new post from longtime friend and newsletter supporter, BARRY NASH, with coaching tips for your talent.

ONE new GM to share, and a few items in Names in the News, including a survey about people who tell reporters ‘no comment’.

Be safe in the heavy snow and cold weather impacting so much of the country.

Newly Named News Directors:

Cathey

WFXG-TV, Augusta, GA…STEPHANIE CATHEY moves within Lockwood Broadcast Group and takes over as news director for this FOX affiliate, She’s been the Managing Editor for the company’s ABC affiliate in Wichita, KAKE-TV (ABC) and has also worked in Anchorage and Huntsville. I believe she replaces CHRISTOPHER PAYNE who served as ND from March 2024, until late last year.

Murrieta

WEAU-TV, Eau Claire, WI…RUDY MURRIETA is the new news director for the Gray Media owned NBC affiliate. He’s a former ND in Tulsa and for a cable news operation in Orlando. He’s also worked in Atlanta as an assistant news director for WGCL-TV (now WANF-TV). At WEAU, I think he replaces JOE RADSKE who left last summer to become news director for WFRV-TV in Green Bay.

New News Director Openings:

Bonfield

KHOU-TV, Houston, TX…Tuesday’s UPDATE reported the departure of KATHRYN BONFIELD from this Tegna owned CBS affiliate. Kathryn was only there a year, quite a contrast from her 13 year run as ND for Graham Media’s WJXT-TV in Jacksonville. Houston media blogger MIKE McGUFF first reported the move. She’s a former ND in Charleston, SC, and twice worked for WFLA-TV in Tampa.

Johns

WBFF-TV, Baltimore, MD…this Sinclair owned FOX affiliate has posted an opening for news director. DAVID JOHNS, who’s been the ND since the summer of 2021, is apparently moving to a new position within Sinclair and we’ll share that when we can. He’s also been the DC bureau chief for the company, and worked for WJLA-TV in Washington, as well as San Diego (two stations), Sacramento, and Santa Barbara.

Eller

WJCL-TV, Savannah, GA…this Hearst Broadcasting ABC affiliate is looking for a news director. KIMBERLY ELLER is leaving after almost three years here to take a teaching position at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. Kimberly had previously been the assistant ND at two other Hearst stations. She’s also worked in Charlotte and for 17 years in Roanoke.

Clouse

KAAL-TV, Rochester, MN…DAN CLOUSE has left this Hubbard Broadcasting owned ABC affiliate. He’d been the news director there since last April. Dan had previously been the news director for Allen Media’s KIMT-TV (CBS), also in Rochester, for three years.

Paid Help Wanted Ad:

Assistant News Director, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN:

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If you have the qualifications, and you are a person of talent and integrity, we invite you to apply!

For the complete application and job description, please click here:

News Management Openings:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH (Boston market), listed 1/11/26)
KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, MN (listed 1/25/26, see ad above!)
KGW-TV, Portland, OR (listed 1/11/26)
WPTV, West Palm Beach, FL (relisted 1/25/26)
KVVU-TV, Las Vegas, NV (listed 11/2/25)
WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (relisted 1/11/26)
WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (relisted 11/16/25)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

WDCW/WDVM-TV, Washington, DC (listed 1/18/26)
WCVB-TV, Boston, MA (listed 1/11/26)
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (Streaming Content EP/Host, relisted 1/11/26)
KAZT-TV, Phoenix, AZ (Digital EP, listed 1/18/26)
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ (listed 12/7/25)
WTTV/WXIN-TV, Indianapolis, IN (AM EP, listed 12/21/25)
WBAL-TV, Baltimore, MD (listed 1/11/26)
WTNH-TV, New Haven, CT (Nightside EP, listed revised 1/25/26)
WPBF-TV, West Palm Beach, FL (listed 1/11/26)
WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, MI (Cable stations EP, listed 1/18/26)
WXII-TV, Winston-Salem, NC (listed 1/11/26)
WFTX-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (relisted 1/11/26)
WKBW-TV, Buffalo, NY (listing modified 12/7/25)
KARK/KLRT-TV, Little Rock, AR (Morning EP, listed 1/25/26)
WBRE-TV, Wilkes-Barre, PA (listed 1/11/26)
WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (Morning EP, listing revised 11/16/25)
WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, VA (listed 11/30/25)
WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY (relisted 12/7/25)
KELO-TV, Sioux Falls, SD (listed 1/18/26)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (AM EP, relisted 1/25/26)
KXMB-TV, Bismarck, ND (Digital EP, listed 12/14/25)
WETM-TV, Elmira, NY (Digital EP, relisted 1/11/26)

Other News Management Openings:

Relisted 1/25/26:

WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, OH (Senior Manager of Digital Content)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (Executive Reporter)

Listed 1/11/26:

KXAN-TV, Austin, TX (Digital Director)
KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV (Real Time Desk Manager)

Listed 12/7/25:

WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (Story Desk Manager)
WGBA-TV, Green Bay, WI (Executive Reporter)

Names in the News (and other stuff):

Tired of hearing ‘no comment’ from newsmakers? If so, you might want to participate in a new survey being conducted by the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, working with the SmithGeiger research and consulting firm. Details here.

There’s a labor dispute brewing between staff at KEYT-TV in Santa Barbara, CA, and station owner News Press & Gazette.

YARILYS DOMENECH has been promoted to VP of the Telemundo News Service, effective tomorrow.

General Manager News and Notes:

MARCI DANIELS is the new GM for WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, MI. That’s the Nexstar owned NBC affiliate there. It was a short move for her…she’d been running Nexstar’s WSYM-TV in Lansing.

Our List of Open News Director Jobs:

Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, January 25, 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

KHOU-TV 5718 Westheimer Rd Houston, TX 77057
KDEN-TV 4100 East Dry Creek Rd. Centennial, CO 80122 **
KOVR/KMAX-TV 2713 KOVR Dr. W. Sacramento, CA 95605
WBFF-TV 2000 W 41st St Baltimore, MD 21211
WITI-TV 9001 N Green Bay Rd. Milwaukee, WI 53209
KVVU-TV 25 TV5 Dr. Henderson, NV 89014
WAVE-TV 725 S. Floyd St. Louisville KY 40203
KLEW-TV 2626 17th St, Lewiston, ID 83501
WISC-TV 7025 Raymond Road, Madison, WI 53719
KNVO-TV, 801 North Jackson Rd., McAllen TX 78501 **
WJCL-TV 1375 Chatham Parkway, Savannah, GA 31405
WTVC-TV 4279 Benton Dr, Chattanooga, TN 37406
KKTV 3100 N Nevada Ave, Ste B, Colorado Springs, CO 80907
WSIL-TV 1416 Country Aire Drive Carterville, IL 62918
WCBI-TV 201 5th Street South Columbus, MS 39701
KSNT/KTKA-TV 6835 NW HWY 24 Topeka, Kansas 66618
KSWO-TV 1401 SE 60th St. Lawton, OK 73501
KBMT-TV 525 Interstate 10 South, Beaumont, TX 77701
KAAL TV 1320 Salem Road SW Rochester, MN 55902
WTWO-TV 10849 N US Highway 41, Farmersburg, IN 47850
WWNY-TV 120 Arcade St. Watertown, NY 13601
KALB-TV 605 Washington Street, Alexandria, LA 71301
KYOU-TV 820 West 2nd Street; Ottumwa, IA 52501
KAVU-TV. 3808 N Navarro St. Victoria, TX 77901

**: Spanish language station

January 18, 2026

Tuesday, January 18, 2026 UPDATE:

A news director change in a top ten market in today’s UPDATE.

Bonfield

KATHRYN BONFIELD has left Tegna’s KHOU-TV (CBS) in Houston after just over a year as news director. Longtime Houston media blogger MIKE McGUFF reported the move earlier today. Before Houston, Kathryn spent 13 years as news director for Graham Media’s (formerly Post-Newsweek) WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, FL. She’s also been an news director in Charleston, SC, and worked for many years in a variety of roles (over two stints) for WFLA-TV in Tampa.

We’ll hope to have more on this story and the rest of the news this weekend.

regards,

 

Rick Gevers

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

Greetings:

We’re a little late tonight due to travel, but it was a fairly busy week, with TWO new news directors and ONE new opening.

That lowers our list of open ND jobs to 22.

(I should thank a loyal reader for sharing tips about both the new NDs. We always welcome your ‘signed’ email tips…not a fan of anonymous but we do not identify our sources.)

We have ONE obituary for a longtime Meredith executive.

Lots of GM items and a few items in Names in the News, including a career change for a former NBC News President.

Stay warm and we’ll see you next weekend.

Newly Named News Directors:

Clark

WCTV, Tallahassee, Fl…we are behind in reporting two new news directors at Gray stations. MICHAEL CLARK started last May (told you I was behind) as ND for this CBS affiliate. He’d been the evening anchor and managing editor for WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg, MS and has worked in other southern markets since 2010. Michael replaces SABRINA FULLER who left last March after five years as ND.

Quinn

WBNG-TV, Binghamton, NY…KEVIN QUINN was promoted to news director for this Gray Media owned CBS affiliate last month. He first joined the station in 2023 as an anchor. Here’s more about Kevin and his background from the station’s website. He replaces TANYA CLEARY who left the station last June after two years as news director.

New News Director Openings:

Fray

KSNT/KTKA-TV, Topeka, KS…after more than ten years on the job, JESSE FRAY is leaving this Nexstar owned NBC and ABC duopoly. He’s taking a position out of television. Before Topeka, Jesse worked in Kansas City, Tulsa, and Wichita, KS.

Paid Help Wanted Ads:

No help wanted ads this week. If you have a news management opening, there’s no better audience than ours to advertise that job. Please email me for details: rick@rickgevers.com

News Management Openings:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH (Boston market), listed 1/11/26)
KGW-TV, Portland, OR (listed 1/11/26)
WPTV, West Palm Beach, FL (listed 11/9/25)
KVVU-TV, Las Vegas, NV (listed 11/2/25)
WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (relisted 1/11/26)
WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (relisted 11/16/25)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, CA (Digital EP, relisted 11/23/25)
WDCW/WDVM-TV, Washington, DC (listed 1/18/26)
WCVB-TV, Boston, MA (listed 1/11/26)
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (Streaming Content EP/Host, relisted 1/11/26)
KAZT-TV, Phoenix, AZ (Digital EP, listed 1/18/26)
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ (listed 12/7/25)
KTVI/KPLR-TV, St. Louis, MO (listed 11/9/25)
WTTV/WXIN-TV, Indianapolis, IN (AM EP, listed 12/21/25)
WBAL-TV, Baltimore, MD (listed 1/11/26)
WTNH-TV, New Haven, CT (Morning EP, listed 11/16/25)
WPBF-TV, West Palm Beach, FL (listed 1/11/26)
WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, MI (Cable stations EP, listed 1/18/26)
WXII-TV, Winston-Salem, NC (listed 1/11/26)
WFTX-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (relisted 1/11/26)
KSEE/KGPE-TV, Fresno, CA (listed 11/9/25)
WKBW-TV, Buffalo, NY (listing modified 12/7/25)
WBRE-TV, Wilkes-Barre, PA (listed 1/11/26)
WDKY-TV, Lexington, KY (listed 1/11/26)
WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (Morning EP, listing revised 11/16/25)
WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, VA (listed 11/30/25)
WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY (relisted 12/7/25)
KELO-TV, Sioux Falls, SD (listed 1/18/26)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (AM EP, listed 11/23/25)
KXMB-TV, Bismarck, ND (Digital EP, listed 12/14/25)
WBOY-TV, Clarksburg, WV (Digital EP, listed 11/16/25)
WETM-TV, Elmira, NY (Digital EP, relisted 1/11/26)

Other News Management Openings:

Listed 1/11/26:

KXAN-TV, Austin, TX (Digital Director)
KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV (Real Time Desk Manager)

Listed 12/7/25:

WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (Story Desk Manager)
WGBA-TV, Green Bay, WI (Executive Reporter)

Listed 11/2/25:

WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, OH (Senior Manager of Digital Content)

Listed 10/26/25

KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (Executive Reporter)

Obituary:

Lowe

DOUG LOWE, who spent more than.20 years as Executive Vice-President of the Broadcast Group for Meredith (remember them?) died January 9 at his Georgia home. He was 67. More in this obituary from the Des Moines Register (Meredith’s headquarters city). Before joining Meredith, he was a CFO for In Touch Ministries. I found this interesting post on his Facebook page where he discussed 29 theories on management and how to treat people.

Names in the News (and other stuff):

Shapiro

Former NBC News President NEAL SHAPIRO is stepping down as President and CEO of the WNET Group, which runs New York’s public TV stations, WNET-TV and WLIW-TV. He’s been in the job for 20 years and will stay on until his successor is named. Neal spent four plus years as President of NBC News and eight years as EP of NBC’s Dateline NBC. He also worked for ABC News for 13 years.

FOX News promoted six executives to new roles.

ERIC VALDEZ is the new managing editor at KTVT-TV, the CBS o-and-o in Dallas.

General Manager News and Notes:

Bernie P.

BERNIE PRAZENICA joined ABC o-and-o WPVI-TV in 1982 in the sales department. He eventually spent 17 years as General Manager of the station, the longest tenure in WPVI history. He’s retiring from that job, but not before he met with the newsroom staff as you’ll see in this story from the WPVI website.

Grisham

CHARLIE GRISHAM will leave Scripps’ WRTV (ABC) in Indianapolis, when (if?) the station’s sale to Circle City Broadcasting is completed. Circle City owns WISH-TV (independent) in Indianapolis. He’s headed to KMTV, the Scripps station in Omaha, where he’ll be GM and Director of Sales. He’s no stranger to Omaha, having graduated from Creighton University there. His career background is here.

Scripps also promoted ALEX IRIATE to GM and Senior Director of sales for WSFL-TV in Miami/Ft,.Lauderdale. He’s been the Sports Sales Manager for Scripps stations in South Florida. More here.

JULIE MILAM is leaving WNKY-TV in Bowling Green, KY, as GM. She’s been at this Marquee Broadcasting station for 18 years. Julie will be the new EVP of Partnership Services for the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce.

Our List of Open News Director Jobs:

Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, January 18, 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

KDEN-TV 4100 East Dry Creek Rd. Centennial, CO 80122 **
KOVR/KMAX-TV 2713 KOVR Dr. W. Sacramento, CA 95605
WITI-TV 9001 N Green Bay Rd. Milwaukee, WI 53209
KVVU-TV 25 TV5 Dr. Henderson, NV 89014
WAVE-TV 725 S. Floyd St. Louisville KY 40203
KLEW-TV 2626 17th St, Lewiston, ID 83501
WISC-TV 7025 Raymond Road, Madison, WI 53719
KNVO-TV, 801 North Jackson Rd., McAllen TX 78501 **
WTVC-TV 4279 Benton Dr, Chattanooga, TN 37406
KKTV 3100 N Nevada Ave, Ste B, Colorado Springs, CO 80907
WSIL-TV 1416 Country Aire Drive Carterville, IL 62918
WFXG-TV 4221 Washington Rd. Martinez GA 30907
WEAU-TV 1907 S. Hastings Way Eau Claire, WI 54701
WCBI-TV 201 5th Street South Columbus, MS 39701
KSNT/KTKA-TV 6835 NW HWY 24 Topeka, Kansas 66618
KSWO-TV 1401 SE 60th St. Lawton, OK 73501
KBMT-TV 525 Interstate 10 South, Beaumont, TX 77701
WTWO-TV 10849 N US Highway 41, Farmersburg, IN 47850
WWNY-TV 120 Arcade St. Watertown, NY 13601
KALB-TV 605 Washington Street, Alexandria, LA 71301
KYOU-TV 820 West 2nd Street; Ottumwa, IA 52501
KAVU-TV. 3808 N Navarro St. Victoria, TX 77901

**: Spanish language station

January 11, 2026

Greetings:

Not surprisingly, a busy week, as is often the case after the long holiday break.

THREE new news directors named, with just ONE new opening, that created by the retirement of a veteran newsman.

That lowers our list of open jobs to 23.

THREE obituaries this week. One’s for an agent who spent more than 40 years in that job, and TWO for long ago news directors.

TWO GM changes, including CBS assigning yet another GM to oversee two stations. At least these two are in the same state. We have what we think is the entire list.

And there’s some items in our Names in the News segment.

  • A former CBS News VP gets a new job.
  • A Scripps executive reporter goes west to the same job in a bigger market
  • And a once unthinkable partnership in Ohio.

Read on for all those stories.

Newly Named News Directors:

Lattanzio

WMAQ-TV, Chicago, IL…our second UPDATE of the New Year shared the news that VINCE LATTANZIO was moving within NBC to become ND for this o-and-o, reporting to SALLY RAMIREZ, Senior VP of News. He’s been the Direcor of Digital Media for NBC’s WRC-TV in Washington and earlier worked for WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. He replaces AKEMI HARRISON who crossed the street in August to become ND for Nexstar’s WGN-TV.

Bach

WKOW-TV, Madison, WI…CAROLINE BACH will be the ND for this Allen Media owned ABC affiliate and will also oversee the news departments for THREE other Allen stations in Wisconsin. It’s all detailed in this story from the WKOW website. She first joined WKOW in 2014 and moved up the ladder. She succeeds DANI MAXWELL, prompted to national news director for Allen.

Peters

KELO-TV, Sioux Falls, SD…ANNA PETERS, a 25 year veteran of this Nexstar owned CBS affiliate, moves up to the ND job. She’s been an EP here since 2017 and replaces BETH JENSEN who retired at the end of 2025 after 30 years at the station, and almost 18 as news director. More details in this item from the KELO website.

New News Director Openings:

Bell

KVVU-TV, Las Vegas, NV…Wednesday’s first UPDATE of 2026 told you that TOM BELL’s long career in our business will end in late March when he retires from the ND job at this Gray Media owned FOX affiliate. Here’s the note from GM MICHAEL KORR. Tom’s been here for seven-plus years, and has also been an ND in Detroit, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, and he’s also worked in St. Louis.

Paid Help Wanted Ads:

No help wanted ads this week. If you have a news management opening, there’s no better audience than ours to advertise that job. Please email me for details: rick@rickgevers.com

News Management Openings:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH (Boston market), listed 1/11/26)
KGW-TV, Portland, OR (listed 1/11/26)
WPTV, West Palm Beach, FL (listed 11/9/25)
KVVU-TV, Las Vegas, NV (listed 11/2/25)
WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (relisted 1/11/26)
WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (relisted 11/16/25)
WJTV, Jackson, MS (relisted 12/21/25)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, CA (Digital EP, relisted 11/23/25)
WCVB-TV, Boston, MA (listed 1/11/26)
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (Streaming Content EP/Host, relisted 1/11/26)
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ (listed 12/7/25)
KTVI/KPLR-TV, St. Louis, MO (listed 11/9/25)
WTTV/WXIN-TV, Indianapolis, IN (AM EP, listed 12/21/25)
WBAL-TV, Baltimore, MD (listed 1/11/26)
WTNH-TV, New Haven, CT (Morning EP, listed 11/16/25)
WPBF-TV, West Palm Beach, FL (listed 1/11/26)
WXII-TV, Winston-Salem, NC (listed 1/11/26)
WFTX-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (relisted 1/11/26)
KSEE/KGPE-TV, Fresno, CA (listed 11/9/25)
WKBW-TV, Buffalo, NY (listing modified 12/7/25)
WBRE-TV, Wilkes-Barre, PA (listed 1/11/26)
WDKY-TV, Lexington, KY (listed 1/11/26)
WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (Morning EP, listing revised 11/16/25)
WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, VA (listed 11/30/25)
WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY (relisted 12/7/25)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (AM EP, listed 11/23/25)
KXMB-TV, Bismarck, ND (Digital EP, listed 12/14/25)
WBOY-TV, Clarksburg, WV (Digital EP, listed 11/16/25)
WETM-TV, Elmira, NY (Digital EP, relisted 1/11/26)

Other News Management Openings:

Listed 1/11/26:

KXAN-TV, Austin, TX (Digital Director)
KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV (Real Time Desk Manager)

Listed 12/7/25:

WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (Story Desk Manager)
WGBA-TV, Green Bay, WI (Executive Reporter)

Listed 11/2/25:

WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, OH (Senior Manager of Digital Content)

Listed 10/26/25

KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (Executive Reporter)

Obituaries:

PAM PULNER, who served our industry for more than 40 years as an agent, died January 2nd. She was 72 years old. This obituary has more details about Pam’s life and interests, though not much information about her career. Per her request, the memorial service will be private.

LEE ELSESSER enjoyed a diverse career. He spent 17 years at KXAS-TV in Dallas-Ft. Worth, where he was the third ND at the station. According to this obituary, he became dissatisfied, worked for American Airlines in communications, and then spent 20+ years as a cooking instructor at a market in Ft. Worth. He died January 1st at the age of 87.

What an interesting name for a news director. JOSEPH SPORTS started in 1963 as the news director for WALB-TV in Albany, GA. He worked there for about three years before moving to a long career in politics. That’s detailed in his obituary, though in 2022 he returned to The Douglas (GA) Enterprise as a reporter for one year. Joe Sports was 91 when he died earlier this week.

Names in the News (and other stuff):

Friend

Former CBS executive DAVID FRIEND has a new job, according to a post on his Linkedin page. He’s the new Senior VP of Daytime News Programming for Newsmax Media. He’s been doing freelance work and blogging since leaving CBS in 2021.

JON ERICKSON moves west to WXMI-TV (FOX) in Grand Rapids, MI, as the executive reporter for this Scripps station. He’s been executive reporter for sister Scripps station, WSYM-TV, in Lansing, MI.

And in a move once thought unthinkable, Nexstar’s WCMH-TV (NBC) in Columbus, OH, and The Columbus Dispatch have entered into a content sharing agreement. Why, you ask, is that unthinkable? Because for many years the Dispatch and WBNS-TV (CBS) were both owned by the Wolfe family. That ended when Tegna bought both WBNS and WTHR-TV (NBC) in Indianapolis.

General Manager News and Notes:

Warren

CBS continues consolidating GM jobs by assigning SCOTT WARREN to oversee KOVR/KMAX-TV in Sacramento and naming him President and GM of (CBS) Northern California, despite his title in the release. He’s been the GM of KPIX-TVin San Francisco since 2022. He replaces DEB COLLURAwho’d been GM here for four years. She’s left the company. NEW THIS EDITION: the note Deb sent to the staff.

Other examples of consolidation of GM jobs at CBS:

JOHNNY GREEN, JR., oversees WCBS-TV in New York and WBZ-TV in Boston.

TIM WIELAND runs both KCBS/KCAL-TV in Los Angeles and KCNC-TV in Denver.

And JENNIFER LYONS is GM for both WBBM-TV in Chicago and WWJ-TV in Detroit.

Of note: all have news backgrounds.

Santiago

KRISTY SANTIAGO only has to worry about one market! She’s the new General Manager for Gray’s KFVS-TV (CBS) in Cape Girardeau, MO (though that is a hyphenated market). Kristy has been the GM for KION-TV in Monterey, CA, and has also run stations in Grand Junction and Palm Desert. Details in this Gray news release.

Our List of Open News Director Jobs:

Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, January 11, 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

KDEN-TV 4100 East Dry Creek Rd. Centennial, CO 80122 **
KOVR/KMAX-TV 2713 KOVR Dr. W. Sacramento, CA 95605
WITI-TV 9001 N Green Bay Rd. Milwaukee, WI 53209
KVVU-TV 25 TV5 Dr. Henderson, NV 89014
WAVE-TV 725 S. Floyd St. Louisville KY 40203
KLEW-TV 2626 17th St, Lewiston, ID 83501
WISC-TV 7025 Raymond Road, Madison, WI 53719
KNVO-TV, 801 North Jackson Rd., McAllen TX 78501 **
WTVC-TV 4279 Benton Dr, Chattanooga, TN 37406
KKTV 3100 N Nevada Ave, Ste B, Colorado Springs, CO 80907
WSIL-TV 1416 Country Aire Drive Carterville, IL 62918
WCTV 1801 Halstead Blvd. Tallahassee, FL 32309
WFXG-TV 4221 Washington Rd. Martinez GA 30907
WEAU-TV 1907 S. Hastings Way Eau Claire, WI 54701
WCBI-TV 201 5th Street South Columbus, MS 39701
KSWO-TV 1401 SE 60th St. Lawton, OK 73501
KBMT-TV 525 Interstate 10 South, Beaumont, TX 77701
WTWO-TV 10849 N US Highway 41, Farmersburg, IN 47850
WBNG-TV 560 Columbia Dr. Johnson City, NY 13790
WWNY-TV 120 Arcade St. Watertown, NY 13601
KALB-TV 605 Washington Street, Alexandria, LA 71301
KYOU-TV 820 West 2nd Street; Ottumwa, IA 52501
KAVU-TV. 3808 N Navarro St. Victoria, TX 77901

**: Spanish language station

January 5, 2026

Thursday, January 8, 2026 UPDATE:

Greetings:

Another day, another update…this one with two items: An ND hire in a top three market, and a former ND turned GM leaves her job at an o-and-o…and her replacement will keep his current job and add her duties.

Lattanzio

VINCE LATTANZIO has been named news director for NBC’s WMAQ-TV in Chicago, where he will report to SALLY RAMIREZ. She’s the Senior VP of News for NBC 5 Chicago-Telemundo Chicago. Details in this news release. Vince has been Director of Digital Media for NBC’s WRC-TV in Washington and earlier spent 13 years at NBC’s WCAU-TV in Philadelphia. He replaces AKEMI HARRISON who crossed the street in August to become ND for Nexstar’s WGN-TV.

Warren

And a change in the GM chair at CBS’s KOVR/KMAX-TV in Sacramento. SCOTT WARREN, who’s the GM for CBS’s KPIX-TV in San Francisco, has been promoted to President and GM of Northern California and will add oversight of the Sacramento operations. That’s according to this news release. (One assumes that he’s merely President and GM of CBS Northern California and has not usurped power from Governor GAVIN NEWSOM.) He replaces DEBORAH COLLURA who’s been GM there since 2022.

As we predicted last weekend, it’s been a busy week. We hope to have more on these stories and the rest of the news this weekend.

regards,

 

Rick Gevers

Wednesday, January 7, 2026 UPDATE:

Greetings:

Our first UPDATE of the new year involves the pending retirement of a long time news director.

Bell

TOM BELL, who’s been ND for Gray’s KVVU-TV (FOX) in Las Vegas since 2018, will end his long career at the end of March. KVVU GM MICHAEL KORR sent this note to the staff. Tom’s Linkedin page contains most…though not all…of his career history…which includes an ND gig in Detroit and a stint or two in St. Louis. He also served as ND for the legendary Canadian radio station CKLW-AM in Windsor, ON.

We’ll have more on Tom’s retirement and the rest of the news this weekend.

regards,

 

Rick Gevers

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

Greetings:

This should not surprise you.

In this holiday week, NO news director changes of any kind,.

That keeps our always unofficial list of open jobs at just 24.

We have obituaries for TWO long ago news directors who had a few things in common. They both anchored and they both started jobs in 1966.

NO GM changes.

But there’s LOTS of interesting items in our Names in the News segment.

  • TONY DOKOUPIL starts his job as CBS Evening News anchor early.
  • But controversy swirls around a pledge he made in promos.
  • GEORGE CLOONEY gets an invite to visit the Broadcast Center after he accuses BARI WEISS of ‘dismantling’ CBS News.
  • CBS’s New Year’s Eve special lost its signal for 12 minutes. Matlock to the rescue!
  • A promotion for a former CBS o-and-o news director.
  • And a former ND’s suit against Nexstar is one step closer to a jury trial.

Read on for all those stories.

We’ll be back next weekend with what will likely be a more active newsletter.

Until then. have a great New Year!

Newly Named News Directors:

With the holidays, to my knowledge no new news directors were hired this week. Please let me know if I’m wrong: rick@rickgevers.com

New News Director Openings:

I am not aware of any openings this week. Always happy to learn via your email if I missed something: rick@rickgevers.com

Paid Help Wanted Ads:

No help wanted ads this week. If you have a news management opening, there’s no better audience than ours to advertise that job. Please email me for details: rick@rickgevers.com

News Management Openings:

ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:

WTNH-TV, New Haven, CT (listed 12/7/25)
WPTV, West Palm Beach, FL (listed 11/9/25)
KVVU-TV, Las Vegas, NV (listed 11/2/25)
WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (listed 12/14/25)
WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (relisted 11/16/25)
WJTV, Jackson, MS (relisted 12/21/25)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:

KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, CA (Digital EP, relisted 11/23/25)
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (Streaming Content EP/Host, modified 10/26/25)
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ (listed 12/7/25)
KTVI/KPLR-TV, St. Louis, MO (listed 11/9/25)
WTTV/WXIN-TV, Indianapolis, IN (AM EP, listed 12/21/25)
WTNH-TV, New Haven, CT (Morning EP, listed 11/16/25)
WFTX-TV, Ft. Myers, FL (listed 10/26/25)
KSEE/KGPE-TV, Fresno, CA (listed 11/9/25)
WKBW-TV, Buffalo, NY (listing modified 12/7/25)
WBRE-TV, Wilkes-Barre, PA (listed 10/26/25)
WHO-TV, Des Moines, IA (Morning EP, listing revised 11/16/25)
WDBJ-TV, Roanoke, VA (listed 11/30/25)
WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY (relisted 12/7/25)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (AM EP, listed 11/23/25)
KXMB-TV, Bismarck, ND (Digital EP, listed 12/14/25)
WBOY-TV, Clarksburg, WV (Digital EP, listed 11/16/25)
WETM-TV, Elmira, NY (Digital EP, listed 10/26/25)

Other News Management Openings:

Listed 12/7/25:

WWL-TV, New Orleans, LA (Story Desk Manager)
WGBA-TV, Green Bay, WI (Executive Reporter)

Listed 11/16/25:

WXMI-TV, Grand Rapids, MI (Executive Reporter)

Listed 11/2/25:

WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, OH (Senior Manager of Digital Content)

Listed 10/26/25

KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (Executive Reporter)

Obituaries:

Tomek

GEORGE TOMEK, who anchored and also served as the news director for KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, died this week at the age of 86. He started his career in Tulsa before moving to Oklahoma city in 1966. KFOR remembered him here.

Kelly

There were similarities between George’s career and that of another former news director and anchor. CHUCK KELLY also joined his station, KTHV-TV in Little Rock in 1966 and spent eleven years there. He later went to work for Arkansas Power and Light in a corporate communications role. More here.

Names in the News (and other stuff):

Doukoupil

TONY DOKOUPIL’s stint as anchor of the CBS Evening news started earlier than planned when he anchored Saturday after the capture of Venezuelan President NICOLAS MADURO. Before that appearance, this article in The Hill reported on his pledge for transparency and his criticism of some legacy media.

JON PASSATINO, writing for Status.News, summarized the criticism of Dokoupil’s pledge.

Actor GEORGE CLOONEY (whose father was the legendary news anchor NICK CLOONEY) accused new CBS Editor-in Chief BARI WEISS of dismantling CBS News.

Weiss responded by inviting Clooney to visit the CBS Broadcast Center to ‘learn more’ about what happens there.

And in one bit of bad news for CBS that you can’t blame on Weiss (at least, I don’t think you can), the network’s live New Year’s Eve broadcast lost its signal for about 12 minutes, forcing a brief except of the series Matlock to run in its place.

Tang

A court ordered pre-trial settlement conference ended without an agreement in STANTON TANG‘s lawsuit against his former employer, Nexstar. Tang sued the company about a year after he was fired from his job as news director for WOOD-TV (NBC) in Grand Rapids, MI. At issue: a memo he ordered his assistant news director to write about the station’s coverage of Pride Month events. Details from The Desk.

Patey

Congratulations to former WCCO-TV (CBS owned-Minneapolis-St. Paul) news director KARI PATEY. According to her Linkedin post, she’s taken anew role at CBS as VP of News Content, Innovation and Special Projects. She’s been VP of Producer Development for CBS since leaving her ND job at ‘CCO in October 2023. She’s also worked in New York and for another Minneapolis TV station.

General Manager News and Notes:

No items! Please let me know if I’ve missed anything: rick@rickgevers.com

Our List of Open News Director Jobs:

Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, January 4, 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

WMAQ-TV 454 N. Columbus Dr., Chicago, IL 60611
KDEN-TV 4100 East Dry Creek Rd. Centennial, CO 80122 **
KOVR/KMAX-TV 2713 KOVR Dr. W. Sacramento, CA 95605
WITI-TV 9001 N Green Bay Rd. Milwaukee, WI 53209
WAVE-TV 725 S. Floyd St. Louisville KY 40203
KLEW-TV 2626 17th St, Lewiston, ID 83501
WISC-TV 7025 Raymond Road, Madison, WI 53719
KNVO-TV, 801 North Jackson Rd., McAllen TX 78501 **
WTVC-TV 4279 Benton Dr, Chattanooga, TN 37406
KKTV 3100 N Nevada Ave, Ste B, Colorado Springs, CO 80907
WSIL-TV 1416 Country Aire Drive Carterville, IL 62918
WCTV 1801 Halstead Blvd. Tallahassee, FL 32309
WFXG-TV 4221 Washington Rd. Martinez GA 30907
KELO-TV 501 South Phillips Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57104
WEAU-TV 1907 S. Hastings Way Eau Claire, WI 54701
WCBI-TV 201 5th Street South Columbus, MS 39701
KSWO-TV 1401 SE 60th St. Lawton, OK 73501
KBMT-TV 525 Interstate 10 South, Beaumont, TX 77701
WTWO-TV 10849 N US Highway 41, Farmersburg, IN 47850
WBNG-TV 560 Columbia Dr. Johnson City, NY 13790
WWNY-TV 120 Arcade St. Watertown, NY 13601
KALB-TV 605 Washington Street, Alexandria, LA 71301
KYOU-TV 820 West 2nd Street; Ottumwa, IA 52501
KAVU-TV. 3808 N Navarro St. Victoria, TX 77901

**: Spanish language station