New VP/News Director for WBBM

[Dave Lampstein 6]

Not sure if this was mentioned yet, but someone I work with told me about it today..

 

Jeff Kiernan (formerly WBZ, WCCO, WTMJ) will be WBBM's next news director. He does good work, so this is great news for CBS 2.

 

Here's some info from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

 

 

JEFF KIERNAN NAMED VICE PRESIDENT AND NEWS DIRECTOR, CBS 2 CHICAGO

Chicago area native and veteran local television news executive Jeff Kiernan has been named Vice President and News Director, WBBM-TV, the CBS-owned station in Chicago, it was announced today by Bruno Cohen, President and General Manager of the station. Kiernan, who currently serves as News Director at WBZ-TV and WSBK-TV, the CBS-owned stations in Boston, will assume his new position as of January 19, 2009.

“In every step of his career, Jeff has improved the quality of journalism and increased the ratings of the newscasts he has managed,” Cohen said. “He is a proven leader with a deep passion for what he does and a respect for the people who work with him. I'm thrilled that we will have both a Chicago area native and a truly accomplished executive as CBS 2's next news director.”

“There is no news town like Chicago,” Kiernan said. “To work in journalism in this city and at a television station I grew up watching is a humbling opportunity. It is a privilege to return home and to be a new member of the WBBM family.”

Kiernan, who possesses more than 23 years of broadcast journalism experience, has been the News Director for CBS’s Boston stations since September 2007. Under his leadership, WBZ-TV’s 11 p.m. newscast has risen to first place and delivered across-the-board ratings growth. The station’s most recent late-news victory in households, total viewers and key demographics was WBZ-TV’s first in a November sweep since 1993.

A native of Munster, Indiana, Kiernan moved to Boston from Minneapolis, where he spent four years as the News Director at WCCO-TV, the CBS-owned station in the Twin Cities.

The key details for us:

Prior to joining CBS, Kiernan was News Director for eight years at top-rated WTMJ-TV, the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee. He joined WTMJ-TV in 1990 as News Assignment Manager and was promoted to Managing News Editor three years later. Before that, Kiernan was a News Reporter/Anchor for WTMJ-AM. He started his broadcast journalism career at Milwaukee’s WISN-AM/WLQT-FM later moving to television at WISN-TV.

An Emmy Award winning journalist, Kiernan is a 1987 graduate of Marquette University with a B.A. in broadcast journalism.

[first on fox 18]

Eh, this was mentioned in the "WBBM WHAT'S NEXT? YOU DECIDE 2009!" thread or whatever but I reckon this deserves its own. Anyway, if this guy can move the needle at WBZ, who says he can't at 'BBM?

[Amra 130]

Cohen made a great choice. I think with the switch to the transmitter on Feb.18 to the Sears Tower, WBBM can reach more households, and combined with Kiernan's experience and looking at what he did at WBZ in BOS, then 2009 might be the year for WBBM.

[Dave Lampstein 6]

Cohen made a great choice. I think with the switch to the transmitter on Feb.18 to the Sears Tower, WBBM can reach more households, and combined with Kiernan's experience and looking at what he did at WBZ in BOS, then 2009 might be the year for WBBM.

 

I agree with that. 90's WTMJ was fascinating to watch, compared to what we have to deal with today... It was a sad day when he left.

[Amra 130]

I agree with that. 90's WTMJ was fascinating to watch' date=' compared to what we have to deal with today... It was a sad day when he left.[/quote']

 

That is what bothers me, nearly always when a good News Director leaves a station, the replacement instead of building on the stable foundation of their predecessor, they change the product and boom, there goes the years of hard work. Like the turmoils that happened when Vickie Burns took over from Bob Long at WRC, and now WNBC. Chris Blackman when Steve Schwaid left WCAU, etc.