On September 15, RBR+TVBR first reported on the promotion of TEGNA‘s Sr. VP and Head of Sports Rights and Sr. VP of Revenue to the role of Sr. VP and Group General Manager. At the time, it was understood that Brad Ramsey would be one of three Group GMs to be announced by the unit of Nexstar Media Group under court order not to merge its assets with the Dallas-based company.
The two other Group General Managers have now been formally announced.
Joining Dallas-based Ramsey, who announced his promotion at TEGNA via the LinkedIn social media platform, are past RBR+TVBR Top Local TV Leader Joan Barrett, who is based in Charlotte, and Phoenix-based Kate Morris.
Each Group GM will oversee two of TEGNA’s six regions:
- Barrett, President/GM of WCNC-TV in Charlotte since 2020 and of WFMY-TV in Greensboro since 2024, will oversee stations in TEGNA’s Northeast and Southeast regions.
- Morris, President/GM of KPNX-12 in Phoenix since 2020 who later gained leadership of KMSB-TV & KTTU-TV in Tucson, will oversee the Midwest and West regions for TEGNA.
- Ramsey will oversee the Texas and Mid-South regions for TEGNA.
“The group GMs will set clear expectations and strategy for local general managers, driving business performance, audience growth, and operational excellence,” TEGNA said in an announcement released midday Monday, Eastern Time.
“Viewers’ habits and advertisers’ needs are constantly shifting, and we have to innovate quickly to serve both,” said CEO Patrick Paolini. “Engaging content and strong sales go hand in hand, and our local GMs are best positioned to connect them in their markets. These leaders will give our general managers the support, resources, and tools they need to grow our business on every platform, at every station.”
The appointments “round out” a new leadership structure at TEGNA pursuant to the need to hire Paolini as CEO — a move literally made thanks to Judge Troy Nunley, a Sacramento-based federal arbiter who is being asked by state Attorneys General to determine whether the combination of TEGNA’s assets with those of Nexstar constitutes an antitrust violation, given the concentration of television industry audience and potential revenue it will gain from a full integration in several markets.
Sacramento is one of those markets, where TEGNA’s KXTV “ABC10” is now an indirect sibling of KTXL “FOX40.” That’s nothing compared to the market concentration Nexstar would see in a market like Denver, where Nexstar’s holdings are comprised of KDVR “FOX 31” and The CW-aligned KWGN-2. Enter TEGNA, which is the owner of NBC affiliate KUSA-9 and MyNetwork TV affiliate KTVD-20 in Denver. The prospect of Nexstar potentially owning four TV stations in Colorado’s largest market was a matter of “significant concern” to Rep. Joe Neguse and Sen. Michael Bennet, both of whom are Democrats.
That same concern is likely being considered by Judge Nunley. In the meantime, Ramsey, Barrett and Morris will serve as key deputies to Paolini, as Nexstar’s C-Suite looks on from afar … wishing, waiting and hoping that, in the coming months, these roles may no longer serve necessary.
