New Orleans native John Cruse was named vice president and general manager at Tribune's WGNO-WNOL New Orleans, effective immediately. Cruse had been the director of sales for the pair, an ABC-CW duopoly.
"John's talent and energy, his experience in this market and his strong ties to the community make him the ideal choice to lead our New Orleans TV stations," said Tribune Broadcasting President Jerry Kersting. "He knows instinctively what will work locally and what won't, and how we can best serve the interests of our viewers and advertisers because he was born down the bayou in Houma, Louisiana, and moved to New Orleans in the eighth grade."
Phil Waterman previously held the general manager title at WGNO-WNOL and left in early April to pursue other opportunites.
Cruse was appointed director of sales in 2005. Prior to that, he was local sales manager for WGNO. Cruse served as interim general manager for both stations when Hurricane Gustav hit in 2008.
"Over the last several years, this market and the people who live and work here have been through some tremendous change," said Cruse. "I'm a local guy with local ties who loves living in New Orleans and wants nothing but success for these two stations-we intend to keep developing our news and local programming and to be aggressive in our promotional campaigns as we create unique brands for WGNO and WNOL."
