Meredith Corp. has received lots of attention in recent weeks for the Feb. 1 closing of its Time Inc. acquisition. But, that’s not to say the $2.8 billion acquisition means the company with a devotion to women’s lifestyle brands has any less interest in being a TV station owner.
Meredith’s Local Media Group includes 17 television stations, reaching 11% of U.S. households, and it has just named a VP/News & Marketing who will take on the role March 19, reporting to division EVP Patrick McCreery.
Taking the position is Gary Brown, and he joins Meredith after a five-year stint as VP/Talent Development for the Napoli Management Group, a news talent representation firm; in that job, Brown represented more than 90 clients. Prior to that, Brown was VP/News for Newport Television, where he oversaw television stations in 22 markets acquired from Clear Channel Communications in an arrangement headed by Providence Equity Partners.
Of the former Clear Channel stations acquired by Newport, Nexstar acquired 12, Sinclair Broadcast Group grabbed six, and Cox Media Group nabbed four.
McCreery calls Brown “one of the most respected leaders in local television news, and is known as a great innovator and strategist. Over his career he has led stations across the country to operations and ratings success, and we are excited to have someone with Gary’s talent and experience rejoin the Meredith team.”
Brown’s early career includes a year as News Director for Meredith’s CBS affiliated WFSB-3 in Hartford (2005-2006), and a two-year tenure as News Director for the company’s ABC affiliated KGTV-10 in San Diego (2006-2008).
Other station stops include WPRI-TV in Providence, and WUPW-TV in his home town of Toledo, Ohio.
“I am thrilled to be returning to the Meredith Local Media Group,” said Brown. “Meredith has a strong station group with outstanding news and marketing teams. “I look forward to working closely with our stations to build on that success.”
