WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 8, 2012--
Alan Frank, president and chief executive officer of Post–Newsweek
Stations, the television broadcasting division of The Washington Post
Company (NYSE: WPO), has announced that he will retire from that
position at the end of 2012. Emily L. Barr has been named to succeed
Frank. She will join Post–Newsweek Stations in July.
Donald E. Graham, chairman and chief executive officer of The Washington
Post Company, said: “Alan Frank has been a key contributor to the
Company for more than 30 years and a brilliant head of Post–Newsweek
Stations. He’s put together an exceptional team, led by six outstanding
station managers. Since 2000, when Alan was named president and CEO of
Post–Newsweek Stations, he has led our television broadcasting division
through an era of excellence. Everyone at the Post Company will miss
him.”
Barr had been president and general manager of WLS–Chicago since 1997.
The ABC-owned TV station is number one in the U.S.’s third-largest
market. Barr also created Live Well Network, a 24/7 national digital
network that is distributed to more than 60% of the country. She began
developing Live Well Network in 2007 and has managed it since its launch
in 2009.
From 1994 to 1997, Barr was president and general manager of
WTVD–Raleigh. Previously, she had been assistant general manager and
director of broadcast operations and programming at WMAR–Baltimore. Barr
began her career in television as a news editor at KSTP–St.
Paul/Minneapolis in 1980, and held increasingly responsible management
positions there and later at WJLA–Washington, DC, and at KHOU–Houston.
Barr received a BA in film studies from Carleton College and an MBA from
George Washington University.
Barr has received numerous awards, including Business Professional of
the Year from the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Spirit Award
from the Chicago Urban League. She serves as president of the board of
United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Chicago and vice chair of the State
Street Commission, and she is a member of the board of Children’s
Memorial Hospital Foundation, Greater Chicago Food Depository,
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and Chicago Central Area Committee. She
is also a member of the advisory council of DePaul University’s College
of Communications, the Economic Club of Chicago and the Chicago Network.
Barr has served several past terms as chairman of the board of the
Illinois Broadcasters Association.
Graham said: “We are so fortunate to have Emily Barr join us. She’s been
an outstanding manager in one of the greatest companies in the industry
and a force for innovation everywhere she’s been.”
Frank joined Post–Newsweek Stations in 1979 as program manager for
WDIV–Detroit. In 1986, he became vice president of programming and
production for PNS. In 1988, he was named vice president and general
manager of WDIV. Under his leadership, WDIV became the city’s news
leader, a position the station continues to hold. During his tenure, he
negotiated the purchase of Michigan’s regional cable sports system,
which he supervised until it was sold to Fox Sports in 1997. Frank has
served as chairman and/or on the executive committee of many national
trade organizations, including the National Association of Broadcasters
(NAB); the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB); the Network
Affiliated Station Alliance (NASA); the NBC and ABC affiliate
associations’ boards of directors; Maximum Service Television (MSTV);
the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC); and the Broadcasters Foundation.
He is also a member of the board of directors of Internet Broadcasting
(IB). In 2005, Frank was named Broadcasting and Cable’s Broadcaster of
the Year. This year, Frank will be inducted into the 2012 class of the
Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Post–Newsweek Stations
Post–Newsweek Stations is the television broadcasting division of The
Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), a diversified education and media
company. PNS owns and operates six television stations: WDIV, the NBC
affiliate in Detroit; KPRC, the NBC affiliate in Houston; WPLG, the ABC
affiliate in Miami; WKMG, the CBS affiliate in Orlando; KSAT, the ABC
affiliate in San Antonio; and WJXT, an independent in Jacksonville. PNS
also has an ownership interest in Internet Broadcasting (IB); is a
member of Pearl LLC, a partner of Mobile Content Venture; and is an
investor in ConnecTV.
Source: The Washington Post Company
The Washington Post Company
Rima Calderon, 202-334-6617
calderonr@washpost.com
