The News Content Director of TEGNA‘s NBC affiliate serving Atlanta who has been interim News Director of WWL-TV in New Orleans since February has been promoted to the role of News Director for its NBC-aligned sibling in the St. Louis market — a move that shows the “hold separate” order preventing Nexstar Media Group from fully assimilating TEGNA’s assets is very much being adhered to.
Taking the ND role at KSDK-5 is Denisha Thomas, allowing her to guide the station’s multiplatform newsroom at a moment when Nexstar is prohibited from combining the KSDK news organization with that of KTVI-TV “FOX 2” and KPLR-TV, “The CW 11.”
KTVI and KPLR share resources under the “FOX 2” banner, and prior to the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order by federal district judge Troy Nunley in Sacramento, market observers believed a combined KSDK and FOX 2 newsroom would result in some level of a staff reduction; two News Directors, in particular, would no longer be needed.
Current a comment acceptance period opened by the FCC as it weighed the Nexstar/TEGNA merger, the potential combination of KSDK with FOX 2 led an individual named Jim Petzel to plead, “Do not approve this merger that would lead to homogenization of local TV ownership and create a larger gulf between those who operate these TV stations and the people whom they are supposed to serve.”
The merger transpired; the only stated agreement to keep separate newsrooms at TEGNA stations was in Ohio, where a settlement with the state Attorney General codified the short-term arrangement. It states that Nexstar is bound to preserve the independent newsrooms of WBNS-TV in Columbus and WKYC-TV in Cleveland until 2031.
Meanwhile, in Denver, Nexstar’s KDVR “FOX 31” and The CW-aligned KWGN-2 were posed to become siblings of TEGNA-owned NBC affiliate KUSA-9 and MyNetwork TV affiliate KTVD-20. The prospect of Nexstar potentially owning four TV stations in Colorado’s largest market and consolidating news operations led Rep. Joe Neguse and Sen. Michael Bennet, both of whom are Democrats, to express their “significant concern” about the transaction in a letter addressed to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
Carr, along with FCC Commissioners Olivia Trusty and Anna Gómez, have not yet voted on the TEGNA-Nexstar merger; the Media Bureau granted the necessary waivers to allow the transaction to proceed on delegated authority, and Nexstar within hours moved ahead with closing the deal. In response, DirecTV and state Attorneys General led by California’s Rob Bonta launched their legal battles against Nexstar and TEGNA.
As the TEGNA and Nexstar legal teams battle the direct broadcast satellite service provider and the state AGs, who they want booted off the case, Thomas will take a role that won’t be likely disappearing for at least two years, given the trajectory of the court cases involving the companies.
She’s a 15-year pro in TV newsrooms, and began her career at KOMU-TV in Columbia, Mo., as the 10pm newscast producer following a role as a production assistant while attending the University of Missouri-Columbia, considered one of the nation’s most prominent communications schools.
Thomas would later serve as a news producer at nearby KAIT-TV in Jonesboro, Ark., and from late 2012 through the end of 2015 held a similar role at WMC-TV in Memphis. As 2015 came to a close, she joined TEGNA’s WKYC in Cleveland as a News Producer, moving to the company’s WGRZ-TV in Buffalo in October 2017 for a two-year sojourn in Western New York. After that, she spent a year back at WKYC before shifting to WATN-TV in Memphis in October 2020 as its News Director. Thomas would move to Atlanta in July 2024 for the “11Alive” News Content Director role.
“Denisha brings extraordinary depth of experience and a proven track record leading
newsrooms throughout the country,” said TEGNA’s VP of Content, Carol Fowler. “Her demonstrated leadership, along with her focus on developing talent, make her exactly right for this position. We’re thrilled to welcome her to St. Louis in this role.”
Thomas commented, “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to join another one of TEGNA’s award-winning newsrooms. KSDK has incredible talent and a deep connection to the
community it serves. I’m looking forward to building on the newsroom’s strong
foundation to continue delivering trusted journalism to our viewers.”
In St. Louis, ranked No. 24 by Nielsen, KSDK has regularly enjoyed higher ratings than “FOX 2” with respect to its local newscasts. Gray Media-owned KMOV, the CBS affiliate, is the ratings leader. Sinclair Inc.’s KDNL-TV “ABC 30” is the laggard in the market; it swapped network affiliations with KTVI in 1995.
