August 17, 2025
Greetings:
As you know from the FOUR UPDATES this week, there’s a lot going on, and not just ND changes, though there are FOUR new news directors to report, with TWO new openings.
My count shows there are now 33 stations looking for a news director.
We have ONE Paid Help Wanted ad this week, that for an Senior Producer opening at WRAL-TV in Raleigh.
And there’s an ad for Sciline which is offering a briefing on EPA changes.
One GM change as an Orlando station reverses course and will now HAVE a GM after saying it would run without one.
The National Edward R. Murrow award winners were named this week. We have the list. That’s in Names in the News, along with changes in how some Scripps stations are managed…and more.
Also in Names in the News, a fun read about The Ed Sullivan Theatre: it’s past and future, and its role in helping to integrate the airwaves when Ed Sullivan hosted his show there.
Finally, lots of readers reacted to the (to be polite) lengthy Sinclair news release about its future plans. (You remember, the one with a sentence that ran 203 words?). A tip of the hat to a loyal reader who suggested it could have been reduced to this:
We may buy some stuff. We may sell some stuff. We may partner with another company to buy some stuff.
Lots more as you read on.
Newly Named News Directors:
Harrison
WGN-TV, Chicago, IL…it was a busy week for UPDATES. Tuesday’s (the second of FOUR last week) brought news that AKEMI HARRISON was moving across town to be Director of News and Multiplatform Content for this Nexstar owned CW station. She had been the ND for NBC’s WMAQ-TV for the last 2+ years after 12 years as ND there. More here. At WGN, Akemi replaces DOMINIC STASI who left in May after five years as ND and 12 years at the station.
Carmean
WTTG/WDCA-TV, Washington, DC…our THIRD update last week reported the promotion of KYLE CARMEAN to be Vice President of News and Content for this FOX o-and-. He’s been the Assistant ND for eleven years, most (if not all) of that time working with ND PAUL McGONAGLE who left in July when he was upped to General Manager for Fox’s Detroit owned station, WJBK-TV.
Spessard
WXIA-TV, Atlanta, GA..Monday’s first UPDATE shared that TODD SPESSARD was moving within Tegna to become Director of Content for this NBC affiliate. Todd’s been the ND at sister Tegna NBC affiliate WCNC-TV in Charlotte for the last 18 months. Todd’s been an ND in several markets, and once worked for me as a producer at WOOD-TV (NBC) in Grand Rapids. He replaces CAROL FOWLER who was promoted to VP of Content for Tegna, overseeing several stations in the region.
Fargen
WMTV, Madison, WI…BRIDGET FARGEN moves within Gray Media as the next ND for this NBC affiliate. Bridget is a Wisconsin native who has spent the last five years as ND for Gray’s WSAW-TV, the CBS affiliate in Wausau, WI. At WMTV, she replaces JESSICA LASZEWSKI who moves, ironically, to Bridget’s soon-to be former station, WSAW, where Jessica will be the general manager.
New News Director Openings:
WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC…you learned above that TODD SPESSARD is leaving one Tegna owned NBC affiliate for another. He’ll going to WXIA-TV in Atlanta as Director of Content.
WSAW-TV, Wausau, WI…you also learned above that BRIDGET FARGEN is moving within Gray to become ND for WMTV in Madison.
Paid Help Wanted Ad:
Other News Management Openings:
ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR:
WCVB-TV, Boston, MA (listed 8/4/25)
WVEC-TV, Norfolk, VA (listed 8/10/25)
KARK/KLRT-TV, Little Rock, AR (relisted 8/17/25)
WJCL-TV, Savannah, GA (listed 8/17/25)
WBRZ-TV, Baton Rouge, LA (listed 7/13/25)
KIII-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (listed 8/10/25)
KWES-TV, Midland, TX (listed 7/25/25)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH (Boston market) (listed 8/4/25)
WMUR-TV, Manchester, NH (Boston market) (Chronicle EP, listed 8/4/25)
KPNX-TV, Phoenix, AZ (Inv. & Special Projects, listed 7/6/25)
KING-TV, Seattle, WA (EP Evening Magazine, relisted 6/29/25)
WFLA-TV, Tampa, FL (relisted 8/4/25)
KARE-TV, Minneapolis MN (listed 7/6/25)
KCRA-TV, Sacramento, CA (listed 8/4/25)
WJYZ-TV, Charlotte, NC (listed 8/4/25)
KGW-TV, Portland, OR (listed 7/6/25)
KOIN-TV, Portland, OR (Sports EP, listed 7/27/25)
WRAL-TV, Raleigh, NC (Senior Producer, listed 8/10/25, see display ad above!)
KSDK-TV, St. Louis, MO (listed 7/6/25)
KSTU-TV, Salt Lake City, UT (listed 7/13/25)
KTVX-TV, Salt Lake City, UT (listed 7/6/25)
WTIC-TV, Hartford, CT (relisted 7/27/25)
WYFF-TV, Greenville, SC (listed 8/4/25)
WFOR-TV, Oklahoma City, OK (listed 8/4/25)
WHAS-TV, Louisville, KY (relisted 6/15/25)
KRQE-TV, Albuquerque, NM (Nightside EP, relisted 7/27/25)
WATN-TV, Memphis, TN (relisted 6/15/25)
WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, NY (listed 7/6/25)
WIVB/WNLO-TV, Buffalo, NY (Digital EP, listed 7/13/25)
WKBW-TV, Buffalo, NY (listed 7/13/25)
WBRE-TV, Wilkes-Barre, PA (Sr. EP of News & Streaming, listed 8/17/25)
WDTN-TV, Dayton, OH (relisted 7/13/25)
KCCI-TV, Des Moines, IA (listed 8/4/25)
WOI-TV, Des Moines, IA (relisted 6/29/25)
WFXR-TV, Roanoke, VA (relisted 8/4/25)
WOWK-TV, Charleston, WV (Digital EP, relisted 8/17/25)
WZDX-TV, Huntsville, AL (listed 7/6/25)
WSYR-TV, Syracuse, NY (relisted 7/20/25)
KVEO/KGBT-TV, Brownsville, TX (Digital EP, listed 8/4/25)
WVNY-WFFF-TV, Burlington, VT (Digital EP, listed 7/27/25)
KFSM-TV, Fayetteville, AR (listed 7/6/25)
WMBD-TV, Peoria, IL (relisted 6/29/25)
MANAGING EDITOR:
WDAF-TV, Kansas City, MO (released 8/17/25)
KQDS-TV, Duluth, MN (listed 7/27/25)
More News Management Openings:
Listed 8/17/25:
WXIN/WTTV, Indianapolis, IN (Digital Content Manager)
KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi, TX (GM and Department Head)
Relisted 8/17/25:
WDHN-TV, Dothan, AL (Digital News Manager)
Listed 7/13/25:
KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV (Real Time Desk Manager)
Listed 6/15/25:
KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV (Executive Reporter)
Obituaries:
Schurz
FRANKLIN DUNN (Frank) SCHURZ, the longtime head of Schurz Communications, died last Sunday at the age of 94. Schurz Communications owned TV, radio and newspapers for many years, but now is primarily a broadband services company. Schurz announced in 2015 it was getting out of broadcasting, and sold most of its stations to Gray. This Wikipedia page outlines its history.
Schwall
A radio reporter turned hard news television reporter turned news director turned feature reporter died Thursday. KEN SCHWALL was a fixture on WBIR-TV in Knoxville for decades, two years of which were spent at the station’s news director. WBIR remembered him in this story, while The Knoxville News-Sentinel recapped his career in this report.
Rickey
DAVE RICKEY, a long ago news manager at WSFA-TV (NBC) in Montgomery, AL, died Wednesday after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 69. Dave joined WFSA as a reporter after graduating from the University of Missouri, where he worked at KOMU-TV. At WSFA, he rose through the ranks to Assistant ND before leaving the station and starting a long career in public relations.
Names in the News (and other stuff):
Congratulations to KING-TV in Seattle and WTVR-TV in Richmond, VA, who won the large and small market Edward R. Murrow Awards for Overall Excellence. RTNDA announced winners of the national awards this week. The complete list is here. Congratulations, too, to my former intern and employee STEVE HARTMAN of CBS News, who won (another) National Murrow for Writing.
CBS has a new home in Atlanta as its owned WUPA-TV (channel 69) began airing CBS programming yesterday, replacing Gray’s WANF-TV. As part of the change, the station made a number of hires as it builds out its news department for a September launch.
Thursday’s fourth UPDATE of the week relayed details of Scripps’ plan to expand his model of having GM’s also serve as department heads. Many of these positions held the title of Station Manager, but now most will be called GM/Department head. This email to employees explains some exceptions and details nine markets where changes were made, costing some employees their jobs.
Benedict
COLIN BENEDICT, who’s been with Morgan Murphy for 37 years, including a stint as ND at WISC-TV in Madison, is one of three company executives who’ve been promoted. Colin becomes Chief Innovation Officer.
And while we rarely stray from stories of television news and management, I though you would enjoy this Hollywood Reporter story about the past (and future) of The Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York once The Late Show with Stephen Colbert signs off next year. I did not know of the significant role ED SULLIVAN played in integrating the airwaves. It’s worth a moment of your time.
General Manager News and Notes:
Jones
A change in philosophy at Graham Media means AUTUMN JONES will serve as both GM and News Director at WKMG-TV (CBS) in Orlando. When JEFF HOFFMAN left the station as General Manager earlier this year, the company said it would not replaces him, and that department heads would report to their corporate overloads. Well, that didn’t last long as you’ll read here.
Our List of Open News Director Jobs:
Here’s our list of open ND jobs as of Sunday, August 17, 2025:
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
WDCW/WDVM-TV 2121 Wisconsin Ave, NW, Washington DC, 20007
WBZ-TV 1170 Soldiers Field Road Boston, MA 02134
KING-TV 1501 1st Ave. South Ste 300 Seattle, WA 98134
WJBK-TV 16550 W Nine Mile Rd, Southfield, Michigan 48037
KARE-TV 8811 Olson Memorial Hwy. Minneapolis, MN 55427
WCNC-TV 1001 Wood Ridge Center Drive Charlotte, NC 28217
KSDK-TV 1000 Market St., St. Louis, MO 63101
KDKA-TV 1 Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
KSWB/KUSI-TV 7191 Engineer Rd., San Diego, CA 92111
WBNS-TV 770 Twin Rivers Dr., Columbus, OH 43215
WCPO-TV 1720 Gilbert Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45202
WPTV 1100 Banyan Blvd. West Palm Beach, FL 33401
WXMI-TV 3117 Plaza Drive NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525
KOKH-TV 1228 E Wilshire Blvd. Oklahoma City, OK 73111
WFTX-TV 621 SW Pine Island Rd, Cape Coral, FL 33991
WGRZ-TV 259 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY 14202
KLEW-TV 2626 17th St, Lewiston, ID 83501
WSLS-TV 821 5th St SW, Roanoke, VA 24016
KNVO-TV, 801 North Jackson Rd., McAllen TX 78501 **
KRGV-TV 900 East Expressway 83, Weslaco,TX
KTLM-TV 200 S. 10th St., 2nd Fl. McAllen, TX 78501 **
WSIL-TV 1416 Country Aire Drive Carterville, IL 62918
KWQC-TV 805 Brady Street Davenport, IA 52803
WCTV 1801 Halstead Blvd. Tallahassee, FL 32309
WEAU-TV 1907 S. Hastings Way Eau Claire, WI 54701
WSAW-TV 1114 Grand Ave. Wausau, WI 54403
KOSA-TV 4101 E. 42nd. Suite J-7. Odessa, TX 79761
KSWO-TV 1401 SE 60th St. Lawton, OK 73501
WTWO-TV 10849 N US Highway 41, Farmersburg, IN 47850
WBNG-TV 560 Columbia Dr. Johnson City, NY 13790
KOTA-TV 2001 Skyline Drive Rapid City, SD 57701
WWNY-TV 120 Arcade St. Watertown, NY 13601
KYOU-TV 820 West 2nd Street; Ottumwa, IA 52501
**: Spanish language station