Hearst Television has promoted one of its long-time executives to serve as the top leader at its Milwaukee ABC affiliate.
On Tuesday, the television broadcaster named Shawn Oswald as the new president and general manager of WISN-TV (Channel 12, ABC), who will succeed current president and GM Jan Wade when she retires at the end of the year.
Currently, Oswald serves in the same role at Hearst’s Omaha ABC affiliate KETV (Channel 7), where he has worked as the station’s top executive since 2020. Prior to joining KETV, he was the president and general manager of KHBS (Channel 40, ABC) and KHOG-TV (Channel 29, CW) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Oswald is no stranger to WISN-TV: He worked at the station between 1998 and 2000, when he was.a national sales manager.
“Shawn is an experienced Hearst Television leader who brings a record of success with him back to WISN,” Michael J. Hayes, the President of Hearst Television, said in a statement. “He draws from a diverse background in complex and competitive markets. Over the last decade, his teams have consistently delivered in news, sales, and community service initiatives.”
Hearst Television provided the following biography for Oswald:
Among many accomplishments, Oswald continued KETV’s legacy of success in Omaha. In 2024 alone, KETV earned the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Station of the Year Award, four regional Edward R. Murrow awards, and the prestigious National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Service to America Award, for its news coverage, as well as the NAB Leadership Foundation’s Celebration of Service to America Award for its “Voices of Gen Z” teen summit.
At KHBS/KHOG, Oswald directed numerous developments including the highly successful premiere of the market’s MeTV affiliate, using one of the stations’ digital channels, and the launch of local newscasts on the stations’ CW affiliate, The Arkansas CW. He oversaw a newsroom build-out, nearly tripling the space dedicated to newsgathering, while also leading a rejuvenation of the stations’ sales, marketing, and promotion strategies. The stations achieved ratings growth and numerous journalism awards; KHBS/KHOG-TV’s 40/29 News earned several regional Emmy Awards for news and weather, among other categories, as well as regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for Sports Reporting and its Website. Oswald also nurtured and expanded several community-service efforts including the annual holiday Turkey Drive with the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and a back-to-school backpack giveaway, which is now in its 12th year.
Prior to returning to Hearst Television in 2014 at KHBS/KHOG, Oswald held industry sales and general management positions in Fort Myers, Florida, and Wichita, Kansas. Oswald currently serves on the Board of Counselors for University of Nebraska Medical Center, and as a board member for the Omaha Chamber of Commerce and Omaha Crimestoppers. He is on the Executive Committee for the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and the Salvation Army. Oswald previously served on the boards of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association and the Kansas Broadcasters Association.
Oswald is a graduate of the Hearst Management Institute, an executive training program facilitated by Northwestern University. He earned a broadcasting degree from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas where he played on the men’s tennis team.
