TEGNA has appointed three veteran television executives to oversee its local broadcast stations across six geographic regions, completing a new management structure introduced by the company last month.
Joan Barrett, Kate Morris and Brad Ramsey have been named Group General Managers, effective immediately, the company announced Monday. They will report to TEGNA CEO Patrick Paolini, the broadcaster affirmed.
Each executive will supervise station General Managers across two regions, with responsibility for business performance, audience development and operational strategy.
The appointments complete Paolini’s new leadership team, which is intended to provide station managers with additional resources and oversight as TEGNA expands its local television and digital businesses.
“Viewers’ habits and advertisers’ needs are constantly shifting, and we have to innovate quickly to serve both,” Paolini said in a statement. “Engaging content and strong sales go hand in hand, and our local GMs are best positioned to connect them in their markets.”
Barrett will oversee TEGNA’s Northeast and Southeast regions. She has served as President and General Manager of WCNC (Channel 36, NBC) in Charlotte since 2020 and assumed additional responsibility for WFMY (Channel 2, CBS) in Greensboro in 2024.
Before joining TEGNA, Barrett was President and General Manager of KDVR (Channel 31, Fox) and KWGN (Channel 2) in Denver. She also spent more than a decade overseeing Schurz Communications’ television operations in Wichita. Barrett co-founded the Carole Kneeland Project for Responsible Journalism, a nonprofit organization that provides leadership training for newsroom managers.
Morris will oversee the Midwest and West regions. She has served as President and General Manager of KPNX (Channel 12, NBC) in Phoenix since 2020 and also supervises KMSB (Channel 11, Fox) and KTTU (Channel 18) in Tucson. Morris previously worked at KTVB (Channel 7, NBC) in Boise, where she advanced from Executive News Director to President and General Manager in 2018.
During her tenure, KTVB expanded its local news operations and received seven National Edward R. Murrow Awards. Morris has more than 25 years of experience in local television news and serves on the boards of the Arizona Media Association and Arizona State University’s Cronkite Endowment.
Ramsey will oversee TEGNA’s Texas and Mid-South regions; he most recently served as the Senior Vice President of Revenue, where he also directed the company’s sports rights strategy. Under Ramsey’s leadership, TEGNA secured full-season local television rights involving teams across the NBA, WNBA, NHL and Major League Baseball.
Ramsey previously served as the Senior Vice President of Media Operations and spent seven years as President and General Manager of WFAA (Channel 8, ABC) in Dallas-Fort Worth. During his tenure at WFAA, the station received 17 national journalism honors, including the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence. Ramsey also serves on the Executive Committee of the ABC Television Affiliate Board of Governors.
TEGNA is operating as subsidiary business of Nexstar Media Group while the broadcasters are engaged in a federal antitrust lawsuit brought by multiple state attorneys general. A federal judge in the case required Nexstar to maintain separate operations from TEGNA, with some exceptions, which ultimately led the company to hire Paolini as CEO in May.
