He’s served as the President/GM of the Hearst Television-owned ABC affiliate in Jackson, Miss., and took that role five years ago. Now, he has been chosen to succeed Joel Vilmenay at its NBC affiliate serving New Orleans.
Michael L. Neelly, a longtime Hearst Television executive who has been a news executive at WLKY-TV in Louisville and WLWT-5 in Cincinnati, is now President/GM for WDSU-6.
Commenting on the appointment, Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb said, “Mike has done outstanding work at WAPT, leading the station in making significant contributions to the local community. New Orleans is an extraordinary television market with an audience that appreciates a commitment to impactful local journalism. Mike brings a great depth of experience and a proven record of success to the role. He and the WDSU team are well positioned to grow the station to new heights.”
Under Neelly’s management, the WAPT team added newscasts on both the primary station and its MeTV digital station; launched a new public affairs program, “Mississippi Matters”; renovated and expanded the facility and news set. His 2016 move to WAPT marked a return to Jackson for Neelly, an Ole Miss alumnus who was a photojournalist and producer in Jackson during the early 1990s.
Prior to Hearst, Neelly was an executive producer at stations in Fort Myers, FL, and Portland, Me.
As RBR+TVBR first reported in late September, Vilmenay has become the President and GM of CBS News and Stations’ local businesses in Los Angeles — KCBS-2 and KCAL-9.
