News Director Change In Nashville
Meredith is changing news bosses in Nashville. Denise Eck is out and Mitch Jacob is taking over at WSMV-TV.
Jacob most recently was the station manager and news director of Sinclair’s WJLA-TV in Washington, DC.
Its also a return to Meredith for Jacob. He was the ND at KPHO-TV in Phoenix, back in the early 200’s.
Here’s the press release for those of you that like to read them:
NASHVILLE, TN (February 26, 2019) – WSMV News 4, Meredith Corporation’s
(NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com) NBC affiliate in Nashville, announced today that it has named Mitch Jacob as the station's News Director, effective immediately. Jacob comes to Nashville from WJLA-TV in Washington, DC, where he was Station Manager and Director of News, and increased ratings across all time periods for four consecutive years.
“Mitch is an outstanding newsroom leader with nearly 20 years of news management experience,” said René LaSpina, WSMV News 4 VP/General Manager. “He is strategic, innovative, and understands that newsrooms need to be flexible in our rapidly changing industry. We are excited to have him join the News 4 team.”
This is a return to Meredith for Jacob. He served as News Director at KPHO-TV, Meredith’s CBS affiliate in Phoenix, in the early 2000s. Jacob also held News Director positions at WSYX/WTTE-TV in Columbus, OH; WTOL-TV in Toledo, OH; KWCH- TV in Wichita, KS; and KGBT-TV in Harlingen, TX.
Under Jacob’s leadership his news teams have won multiple awards including a 2016 RTNDA National Murrow for Breaking News; 2017 RTNDA Regional Murrow for Overall Excellence; and four Regional Emmys for Overall News Excellence in 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2012.
Meredith Corporation has been committed to service journalism for more than 115 years. Today, Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms – including broadcast television, print and digital – to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising partners.
Meredith's Local Media Group includes 17 television stations reaching 11 percent of U.S. households. Meredith's portfolio is concentrated in large, fast-growing markets, with seven stations in the nation's Top 25 and 13 in Top 50 markets. Meredith's stations produce approximately 700 hours of local news and entertainment content each week and operate leading local digital destinations.
Contact: Kara Kelly, Corporate Communications Manager: (515) 284-3125, kara.kelly@meredith.com.