Sam Rosenwasser has been appointed vice president and general manager of WEWS, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland.
“Sam brings a well-balanced blend of industry experience combined with community leadership to the Cleveland market,” said Brian Lawlor, senior vice president of the Scripps television division. “Sam has a history of advancing great newsrooms, while implementing innovative programming and digital strategies to better serve the information needs to local communities. Under Sam’s direction, the station will further the enterprise journalism that Northeastern Ohioans have come to expect from WEWS, Ohio’s first and longest-running television station.”
Rosenwasser, 57, most recently served seven years as president and general manager of WTSP-TV and 10 Connects Networks in Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla. While leading WTSP, he was named senior vice president for Gannett Television in January 2001.
Prior to WTSP, Rosenwasser was president and general manager of KVUE in Austin, Texas, beginning in 1996, and then president and general manager of KXTV in Sacramento, Calif., from 1999 to 2001.
Rosenwasser began his career in WFAA-TV’s newsroom in Dallas in 1973. In 1975, he became an account executive at WBAP radio in Dallas and Fort Worth. Five years later, he was promoted to local sales manager. In 1983, he moved back to television as an account executive; first at Dallas-Fort Worth’s KDFW-TV, then at WFAA-TV.
His industry accomplishments include receiving the distinguished Gannett “Manager of the Year” award in 2007. The Austin Advertising Federation nominated him as “Television Manager of the Year” in 1999.
Rosenwasser serves on the board of directors of the Carole Kneeland Project for Responsible Journalism, a position he has held since 2004. He also has served as chairman of the board for the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Sacramento. While in Austin, he served on the board of the Austin Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television, on the executive board of Austin Crime Stoppers, and on the boards of the Austin Urban League and the Junior Achievement of Central Texas.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Rosenwasser earned his bachelor of arts degree in radio/television/film from North Texas State University (renamed The University of North Texas) in Denton, Texas.
The Safety Harbor, Fla., resident and his wife, Kay, will relocate to the Cleveland area with their daughter, Callie.