John Humphries, a broadcast television veteran with more than four decades of experience, is set to retire from Hearst Television later this year, the company announced.
Humphries has spent nearly half of his TV career at Hearst Television — 18 years, to be precise — and has worked for the last seven years as the president and general manager of WYFF (Channel 4, NBC) in the Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina market. Prior to working at WYFF, Humphries spent four years as the president and general manager of WGAL (Channel 8, NBC) in York, Pennsylvania.
He started his Hearst TV journey at WYFF as a sales director in 2006. Other roles include a general sales manager position at Gray Media-owned WBTV (Channel 3, CBS) in Charlotte and a similar role at Nexstar-owned WSPA (Channel 7, CBS) in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
His TV career began in the late 1970s at WSOC (Channel 9, ABC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he spent 18 years working in various roles, including sports reporter, TV production, account executive and sales manager.
“John is a consummate broadcaster who led two of Hearst Television’s most honored and successful brands,” Michael J. Hayes, the President of Hearst Television, said in a statement. “He built upon the culture of excellence in journalism and community service in both markets. He leaves a powerful legacy of leadership and a strong foundation for the future of WYFF 4.”
Hearst said a successor to Humphries’ role at WYFF will be named at a later date. For now, the company and the station are focused on celebrating the career of a dedicated professional in the TV broadcasting industry.
“Over the past 45 years it has been my privilege to serve alongside scores of passionate local broadcasters, all of whom were dedicated to making a difference in their communities,” Humphries said. “I am beyond blessed to have had the unique opportunity to conclude my career in leadership roles at two extraordinary Hearst Television properties.”
In addition to his TV executive roles, Humphries is a past president of the board of the South Carolina Broadcasters Association and the SCBA Educational Foundation and served on the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) Sales Advisory Committee.
Among his civic and charitable associations, he has served on the board for United Way of Greenville County, and currently serves on the boards of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the South Carolina Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Urban League of the Upstate, the company affirmed. Humphries is also recognized by The Riley Institute at Furman University as a Riley Institute Diversity Fellow.
