As May 2023 came to a close, The E.W. Scripps Co. attracted attention for sharing with its employees details about a local news initiative designed to transform how its broadcast TV stations report and produce its newscasts on a daily basis. In August, details regarding the creation of five new Regional Vice President/GM positions came to light.
Now, a new internal memo leaked to a TV industry blog offers additional insights into the structural evolution underway at Scripps’ local broadcast TV stations, with the General Manager role officially eliminated in seven markets.
The memo from SVP of Local Media Dean Littleton, which was shared by FTVLive.com and confirmed as authentic by a Scripps spokesperson, details job eliminations “in some markets.”
Those markets include San Luis Obispo, Calif., where KNXV-15 in Phoenix VP/GM Anita Heit has since August 15 served as a Regional VP/GM. There, KSBY-6, the dominant NBC affiliate serving communities from Paso Robles south to Santa Barbara, will be seeking a Station Manager.
As such, VP/GM Ed Chapuis, who ranks at No. 19 on RBR+TVBR’s Top Local TV Leaders list for 2023, has seen his position disappear.
Open Station Manager positions are also in place at KJRH-TV in Tulsa; KTVQ-TV in Billings, Mont.; KXXV-TV in Waco, Tex.; WFTX-TV in Fort Myers-Naples; WKBW-TV in Buffalo; and at WTXL-TV in Tallahassee, Fla.
In Tulsa and in Waco, Kathleen Choal took on Regional VP/GM duties in August, rising from VP/GM of KSHB-41 in Kansas City. For Billings, Scripps VP of Local Media Operations Jon Saunders has had oversight.
In Tallahassee and in Fort Myers, WFTS-28 in Tampa VP/GM Nick Nicholson took over as Regional VP/GM, while Lyn Plantinga oversees Buffalo as Regional VP/GM, rising from VP/GM of WTVF-5 in Nashville.
At WKBW, Marc Jaromin told staff via e-mail that he’s exiting after joining the ABC affiliate serving Western New York in October 2019. “Scripps has successfully moved to a station manager model in some mid- and smaller-market stations across the country,” he wrote. “Today, we announced that WKBW is also moving to a station manager structure, meaning my role as general manager is going away. The station manager will help run the station’s day-to-day operations, as well as their own department, and current department heads will be eligible to apply for the job.”
Jaromin is widely known for his role as an associate dean for the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation’s Broadcast Leadership Training program.
Meanwhile, Littleton confirmed in his memo to Scripps colleagues that KMTV-TV in Omaha will see Lisa Volenec serve as Station Manager/Director of Sales while Gary Baxter will hold that role at WSYM-TV in Lansing, Mich.
Volenec was Regional Director of New Business Development for Scripps, rising from LSM of its ABC15 in Phoenix, before moving to Omaha in August 2022 to serve as KMTV-3’s VP/GM.
For Baxter, he’s been VP/GM at WSYM “FOX47” since January 2009.
Is this a “demotion” for the longtime Scripps local leaders? In Littleton’s memo, he explains, “Station managers help with the station’s day-to-day operations and also serve as department heads. We have had success with this new position, and now we are expanding the station manager model to additional markets.”
Meanwhile, Littleton thanked Chapuis and Jaromin indirectly by thanking leaders who lost their jobs for their contributions. “These decisions were based on a number of factors, including market size, station profitability and financial savings.”
While WKBW has long been mired in third place in the local TV ratings against Nexstar-owned WIVB-4 and TEGNA’s WGRZ-2 in Buffalo, KSBY is a dominant — albeit small-market — station that sees the majority of its viewership (and business) come from San Luis Obispo and not Santa Barbara, within its DMA.
In closing, Littleton remarked, “This has been a challenging day across our stations, and I appreciate your patience and understanding as we move closer to finalizing the 2023 reorganization for local media.”
