CINCINNATI — The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP), one of the nation’s largest independent owners of TV stations, has announced expanded corporate roles for three television executives and promotions for station leaders in three Scripps markets.
Debbie Turner is the new vice president of TV operations for Scripps. She joined Scripps from her prior position as executive vice president overseeing the Journal Broadcast Group with additional responsibilities as the vice president and general manager for WTVF in Nashville, Tennessee. She will oversee the operations of all 33 Scripps TV stations. Turner will have two offices, splitting time between Nashville and Cincinnati.
Ed Fernandez is vice president and divisional general manager for Scripps. He will relinquish his responsibilities as general manager for WXYZ in Detroit in order to take on new corporate oversight of multiple Scripps markets. He will remain based in Detroit.
Steve Wasserman also is vice president and divisional general manager for Scripps. Steve will no longer serve as general manager of WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is responsible for operations at multiple Scripps stations across the U.S., while continuing to be based in West Palm Beach.
These three leaders are taking on larger roles in the strategy and execution of the entire TV division. As a result of these promotions, Scripps has appointed three new general managers serving Nashville, Detroit and West Palm Beach.
Lyn Plantinga is the new vice president and general manager for WTVF. It is the top-rated station in the market and one of the top three CBS affiliates in the country. She helped develop NewsChannel 5’s nationally acclaimed investigative unit, which recently won its second Peabody Award. Plantinga’s television experience includes successful management efforts in both news and sales.
She is a fellow of the Carol Kneeland Project for Television Executives, and graduated from the Landmark Senior Leadership Course, the NAB Broadcast Executive Management program at Northwestern University, and the Poynter Institute’s News Management program. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Vanderbilt University.
Mike Murri is the new vice president and general manager for WXYZ and WMYD in Detroit. WXYZ, the ABC affiliate, is an award-winning station that plays a pivotal role in the resurgence of the city. WMYD is a MYNetwork affiliate. In more than 30 years with the station, Murri has worked as an account executive, local sales manager, director of sales and station manager. In his role as station manager, Murri oversaw the launch of 17 hours of news each week on WMYD. WXYZ won Station of the Year from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters in 2014. He is a graduate of Oakland University and serves on the ABC Sales Advisory Committee.
Lloyd Bucher is the new vice president and general manager for WPTV. The NBC affiliate has been the West Palm Beach market leader since the day it signed on and is one of the highest rated stations in Florida. Bucher has served as station manager of WPTV since 2012. His prior experiences are in sales management in West Palm Beach, Miami and Philadelphia. He earned a Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. He serves on numerous boards in the industry and his West Palm community.
“As we look to define Scripps as a local media company that supports platforms and devices beyond TV, Lyn, Mike and Lloyd are progressive leaders who represent the modern view of what it means to run a market-leading media organization,” said Brian Lawlor, senior vice president of the Scripps Broadcast division.“ They each understand the intersection of media consumption in a TV, mobile and social world and will guide their local brands to continued media leadership in each of these great cities.”
The changes in the company structure are effective immediately. Photos of all the executives are available on request.
About Scripps
The E.W. Scripps Company serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, radio and digital media brands. Scripps is one of the nation’s largest independent TV station owners, with 33 television stations in 24 markets and a reach of nearly one in five U.S. households. It also owns 34 radio stations in eight markets. When Scripps and the former Journal Communications merged their broadcast assets in early 2015, they also spun off their respective newspapers, creating a new public company, Journal Media Group. Scripps also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses, including mobile video news service Newsy and weather app developer WeatherSphere. Scripps also produces television shows including The List and The Now, runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and serves as the long-time steward of the nation’s largest, most successful and longest-running educational program, the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”
Investor contact:
Carolyn Micheli, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3732, [email protected]
Media contact:
Valerie Miller, The E.W. Scripps Company, 513-977-3023, [email protected]