The “hold separate” unit, by court order, of Nexstar Media Group led by CEO Patrick Paolini continues to ramp up its own group of local and regional leaders and has now promoted a trio of sales leaders to the role of President/GM in three key regions — and five DMAs — across the U.S.
This sees TEGNA bestow market leadership roles upon Ryan Drake, Tony Motta and Angela New. In these roles, Drake, Motta and New will be responsible for overseeing station operations across platforms, focusing on audience growth, revenue and streaming, TEGNA says.
Drake will serve as President and General Manager for WOI-TV in Des Moines and WQAD-TV in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. He’s served as Director of Sales for the stations since 2024 and before that served as Local Sales Manager, rising from Sr. Account Executive.
“Ryan has been an incredible asset to our sales team in Des Moines,” said Kate Morris, Group General Manager for TEGNA’s Midwest and West regions. “I’m confident that both WOI and WQAD will benefit from his expertise, creativity and ability to create a winning culture.”
Motta will step into the role of President/GM of KPNX-12, TEGNA’s NBC affiliate in Phoenix, and KMSB-TV & KTTU-TV in Tucson, which serve the market with FOX and The CW Network, respectively. He also rises from Director of Sales, for KPNX. Before that, he held a similar role for CBS Stations’ KOVR-TV & KMAX-TV in Sacramento. Motta began his broadcasting career at CBS Radio in Orlando and spent 11 years with Cox Media Group. “Tony’s understanding of our communities in Arizona and his commitment to developing people position him well to lead our stations,” Morris said. “He will play a pivotal role in our continued success in Phoenix and foster the growth of a robust news operation in Tucson.”
New becomes President/GM of WVEC-10 in Norfolk, TEGNA’s ABC affiliate serving Hampton Roads, after serving as Director of Sales since 2019 and hold expanded duties as the head of sales for KARE-TV in Minneapolis since 2025. New began her career in national sales at Petry Media in 2006 before joining WVEC as an account executive. She then spent nearly a decade at WTKR-TV in Norfolk before returning to WVEC as a major accounts sales manager.
“Angela knows WVEC and Hampton Roads well,” said Joan Barrett, Group General Manager for TEGNA’s Northeast and Southeast regions. “She’s spent nearly 20 years working in this market, building relationships with local businesses and getting to know the communities WVEC serves. That perspective, along with her experience leading sales teams at both WVEC and KARE will serve her well in this new role.”
