The E. W. Scripps Company has promoted several executives to new roles that are focused on accelerating the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions within the broadcast and streaming company.
Last week, Kerry Oslund was named the Vice President of AI Strategy, while former Scripps News executive Christina Hartman was named to the role of VP of Emerging Technology Operations on Monday. Both will report to Laura Tomlin, the Chief Transformation Officer at Scripps.
Additionally, Keith St. Peter has been appointed the Director of Newsroom AI, where he will lead AI strategies for newsroom initiatives. He will report to Hartman, the company affirmed.
“Our goal is to quickly and responsibly transform our organization into a nimble environment that fosters innovation at all levels, inspiring revenue growth, efficient workflows and new product development,” Tomlin said in a statement on Monday. “AI will play a critical role in reshaping our operating systems and company culture.”
Scripps furnished the following information on the backgrounds of the three executives:
- Kerry Oslund has been vice president of enterprise strategy and business development for Scripps, focused on driving adoption and strategic initiatives around ATSC 3.0 broadcasting technology, datacasting and maximizing the use of spectrum. Oslund is on the Board of Directors for ATSC. In this new Scripps role, he will drive AI strategy with an emphasis on business development.
- Christina Hartman has been vice president and head of Scripps News, which on Nov. 15 moved to streaming-only platforms after ending its over-the-air broadcasts. She has served as co-chair of Scripps’ AI Governance Committee, established to proactively drive safe AI awareness and adoption. The committee published AI guidelines on the company’s Media Trust Center. She will contribute to strategy and continue to play a leading role in ethical adoption of AI across the organization.
- Keith St. Peter joined Scripps in 2021 and most recently served as news director at KIVI, the Scripps-owned television station in Boise, Idaho. Prior to that, he was senior executive producer at KNXV, the Scripps-owned television station in Phoenix. As AI technology and its relevant use cases in newsrooms evolve, St. Peter will be responsible for training, adapting and developing newsroom solutions – while ensuring journalistic integrity, accuracy and fairness.
“Like spectrum, AI has the potential of becoming another foundational asset for the company,” Oslund said in a statement. “This is an exciting time for Scripps to be a leader in both spaces.”
“Driving AI fluency within our workforce and adoption within our workflows will unleash a new era of innovation and creativity,” Hartman said on Monday. “I couldn’t be more excited to help lead that transformation with Kerry and Keith under Laura’s leadership.”
Scripps operates more than five dozen local TV stations across 40 regional markets, as well as the FAST channel Scripps News, national broadcast network and FAST channels Ion and Court TV, and a handful of general entertainment FAST and multicast networks.
