Media Moves

The 2020 Celebration of Service to America Awards, previously scheduled for June 9, has been reimagined as a pre-recorded event. Through a partnership with Hollywood production company Trailer Park, the NAB Leadership Foundation will provide a broadcast-quality program showcasing the vital role of local media. The date of the event is forthcoming.

For decades, Hal Stein was associated with WHWH-AM and WPST-FM, known across Central N.J. and greater Philadelphia. He was the marketing whiz behind the stations and, as it turns out, a cousin to famed novelty act Tiny Tim. Now, media professionals are pausing to recall Stein, who has died. Complications from the novel coronavirus were to blame.

After 12 years as President and Executive Director of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB), Kent Cornish will retire at the end of May. Who's succeeding him the role?

For three decades, he served as a locally based engineering executive for Hearst Television, most recently at its Boston operations. This came after stops in Sacramento and, before that, in New Orleans. Now, he's been promoted to a regional corporate-level position at the local TV station owner.

The volunteer organization committed to developing management and leadership skills for women in radio has brought on four new members to its executive committee. The women include a consultant, an owner/operator, and two local managers within a short drive of one another, via Interstate 80.

For 15 years, she served as SVP/Finance at CBS Radio, now a part of Entercom. As part of her duties, she led the division through its initial public offering preparation and its sale to Entercom in 2017 in a tax-free Reverse Morris Trust merger. Now, Stacey Benson is to be CFO of CBS News.

The individual serving since 2015 as the VP/GM of Nexstar Broadcasting's TV stations in the Bryan-Temple-Waco, Tex., DMA, has been promoted to similar duties for the company's Houston property, an affiliate of The CW Network.

He began his career there as an intern. Now, he's the top man in charge at an ABC Owned Television Stations O&O in the Golden State.

Since 2015, she's been serving as VP/GM of Nexstar Media Group's big NBC affiliate serving the Twin Tiers of New York and Pennsylvania: WETM-18. Now, she's being promoted, and will now take similar duties for the company's CBS affiliate in a Michigan locale -- and the Joint Operating Agreement Nexstar has for the market's home for The CW Network and for ABC.

Until Friday, she was the Director of Sales for Townsquare Media's Portland, Me., station group. Now, she has been elevated to VP/Sales for Northern New England, which includes Portland and both Augusta, Me., and Portsmouth, N.H. Veterans of Clear Channel and iHeartRadio may recall Dobbins from her time in San Diego.

In 2018, Jeff Holub was promoted to Station Manager at Meredith Local Media's WGCL-46 -- the CBS affiliate serving Atlanta. This followed a lengthy run at Cox Media Group. Now, Holub is moving to Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., where its longtime News Director rises to Station Manager. Holub will be this Meredith talent's new boss.

A local broadcast TV executive who helped build Hearst's ABC affiliate in Omaha into a leading station in the Heartland is returning to Northern California. Why? She's been selected to succeed the retiring Elliott Troshinsky in Sacramento.

More than 100 women have been honored by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) by being selected as winners of its 45th annual Gracie Awards. The list of honorees includes individuals comprising some of the most talented women in television, radio and digital media.

John Dimick is now a senior programming executive for Cumulus Media's radio stations across the U.S. He's been with Cumulus since he joined the company in June 2016. Dimick will lead Cumulus’ team of VPs of Programming Operations, and 11 Format Specialists across the company.

In October 2015, Charlie Pavlounis took on the role of SVP/CFO at CBS News, shifting from a C-Suite role at CBS Corp. as Chief Audit Executive. Now, it seems Pavlounis is leaving to pursue another opportunity. Thank social media platform LinkedIn for making the news official.