TEGNA8 names Brad Ramsey as new president/GM
01/04/18 10:35 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Dallas-based WFAA-TV (TEGNA8) begins the new year with a change at the top.
The station’s corporate owner, TEGNA, Inc. of McLean, VA,, announced Thursday that Brad Ramsey will succeed Mike Devlin as president and general manager.
Devlin, who earlier had announced his retirement after 12 years in management, will remain with TEGNA8 through early February to “ensure a smooth transition,” TEGNA says.
Ramsey has been vice president of business strategy for The Center for Sales Strategy after earlier serving as corporate TEGNA’s vice president of sales.
Lynn Beal, executive vice president and chief operating officer of media operations for TEGNA, said Ramsey will “continue to build on the great work Mike and the WFAA team are doing to embrace innovation, connect with our audiences and increase engagement on all devices. We’re excited to welcome Brad back into the TEGNA family.”
Ramsey, who will relocate to Dallas, is a Virginia Tech graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters degree in business administration.
Devlin earlier was a reporter for WFAA when it was home-owned owned by Belo Corp. He returned to the station in 2005 after serving as news director for Houston’s KHOU-TV.
In the last major ratings “sweeps” period on his watch, TEGNA8 returned to the top spot last November in the showcase 10 p.m. newscast competition. The station won in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target for news programming.
TEGNA8 lately has placed a heavy emphasis on “engagement on all devices,” particularly during its early morning Daybreak program. Recently hired traffic anchor Demetria Obilor, who doubles on-air as a Twitter/Facebook/Instagram chronicler, spoke volumes in that respect Thursday morning with a Twitter post and accompanying picture in which she assured followers, “Man, I’m tryna kick it wit ya.” Obilor at last count has 107,511 followers on Twitter.
Ramsey currently has 1,117 followers. Devlin has 37, but hasn’t tweeted since Feb. 9, 2009, when his one and only post said, “bud, I just signed up.”
Times are changing.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net