New Tribune Company CEO Eddy Hartenstein is putting his executive staff in place, with Nils Larsen named CEO of the broadcasting division. Gone is Jerry Kersting, who had been part of the Randy Michaels team, and his position of president of Tribune Broadcasting has been eliminated.
Larsen had already been Chairman of Tribune Broadcasting since last October. While he is now CEO of the division, he will also continue to be Chief Investment Officer of Tribune Company. As CEO of Tribune Broadcasting, Larsen has responsibility for the “strategic vision” and day-to-day operations of the company’s 23 TV stations, cable network WGN America and WGN-AM Chicago.
“Tribune’s broadcasting group has gotten off to a strong start this year — a result of having great assets in the biggest markets in the country, a rapidly growing cable network, and talented and innovative employees. Nils is the right person to lead our broadcasting operations; he’s thoughtful, creative, and has the vision necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the group,” said Hartenstein.
“Our broadcasting operations are led by gifted people, who know their customers and local communities very well,” said Larsen. “We’ve been expanding local news, developing new original programming and making smart decisions with our syndicated programming, which is driving ratings and resonating with advertisers. We have momentum and there’s a lot more opportunity ahead.”
Larsen, a long time associate of Sam Zell, who is still Chairman of the Tribune board, joined the company in 2008.
