She got her start in local news at WCCO-4 in Minneapolis in 1999, when she produced the station’s weekday morning newscasts. After several years in New York, this local TV news veteran returned to the Twin Cities in 2017 to serve as VP/News Director of WCCO-4.
Now, Kari Patey is being promoted by CBS News & Stations.
Patey, who spent 12 years at WNBC-4 and rose through the ranks as a writer and producer to become the assistant news director, is now the VP of Producer Development for all CBS stations.
She’ll remain based in the Twin Cities, and it is a newly created position — one that sees Patey become responsible for supporting the recruitment, development and retention of news producers at CBS Stations’ 14 local newsrooms across the country.
In addition, Patey will work closely with CBS Stations SVP/Talent Strategy Laurie Orlando on initiatives such as developing new-hire onboarding programs and providing training opportunities for producers within the group who aspire to become news managers.
“I am deeply honored to receive this opportunity to pursue my professional and personal passions by taking on this new role,” Patey said.
Patey will continue to lead the day-to-day operations at CBS News Minnesota until her successor is hired.
CBS Stations co-President Jennifer Mitchell commented, “Kari has long been a passionate advocate for producers and considers them to be the lifeblood of a successful newsroom. As someone who has worked as a producer, she understands how challenging these roles are and how important it is to provide our colleagues with the training and support they need in order to be successful.”
Mitchell’s counterpart, Adrienne Roark, said, “We look forward to having Kari play an instrumental role in helping us find the next generation of producers, and also support the development of producers who are already in house and want to pursue newsroom management opportunities. Kari is a leader who is liked and respected by her colleagues and will help us make CBS Stations the best place to work in our industry.”
Patey added, “Being able to work more closely with (CBS News and Stations president and co-head) Wendy McMahon, Jennifer, Adrienne, Laurie and the leaders in our markets across the country, and play a role in breathing new life into how we go about recruiting, training and retaining the producers at our stations, truly is a dream come true.”
