Hearst Television has closed on its acquisitions of WVTM Birmingham from Media General and WJCL Savannah from LIN Media. Hank Price, WXII Greensboro president and general manager, is taking on the general manager position at WVTM. His successor at WXII will be announced at a later date.
Timothy Morrissey, most recently president and general manager of Gannett's WCNC Charlotte, will become president and general manager of WJCL. The move is a return to Hearst for Morrissey, who in the mid-1980s served as news director at WISN Milwaukee.
"Television stations with strong news brands attract the largest audiences," said Jordan Wertlieb, president of Hearst Television. "A dedication to quality local programming and community service will be our focus as we grow our audience in the region. Hank and Tim exemplify that dedication."
Prior to joining Hearst, Price was vice president and general manager of WBBM, the CBS-owned station in Chicago and, before that, the president and general manager of KARE Minneapolis. In 2010, Price received the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters' Distinguished Service Award for "Outstanding Contributions to Broadcasting." He is co-author of Audience First, scheduled to be released by Sage Publishing in mid-2015.
Before becoming president and general manager at WCNC in 2007, Morrissey was divisional vice president of The New York Times Company Broadcast Group, after a stint as corporate vice president of news. Morrissey has been a member of the NBC network affiliate board, the NBC NewsChannel board, the ABC News advisory board and the FCC's Media Security and Reliability Council (MSRC).
