Jeanette Tully, a longtime executive and broker in the U.S. broadcasting community, died on Sept. 11 in Nashville, Tenn., at age 71. She was remembered as a dominant presence in the broadcast industry, where her extensive media knowledge and financial acumen were sought by titans in acquisition and station management for the past 40 years.
She was a pioneer among women in broadcasting, and a mentor to many who have now ascended to power in the various media industries, colleagues and friends said.
NAB Educational Foundation President Marcellus Alexander said: "Jeanette Tully was a wonderful person and an integral part of our Broadcast Leadership Training (BLT) program. Her brilliant mind and sharp wit made her a favorite among the faculty in the program. We are forever appreciative and grateful of her time and commitment as an associate BLT dean. The entire NAB Education Foundation and Broadcast Leadership Training family send our condolences to her loved ones."
David Unger, a longtime media investment banking colleague and friend, recalled Tully as "an amazing person. She had a wonderful way of doing business and being a great friend."
For the past 10 years Tully was CEO of the Aloha Station Trust and, most recently the Ocean Station Trust, managing 42 radio stations around the U.S. in all formats, affiliated with iHeartRadio. She began her broadcasting career at Harte-Hanks Communications in 1978, where for over eight years she was Vice President, Broadcasting and Entertainment in San Antonio, Texas.
Previously, she was VP at the media investment banking and brokerage firm Communications Equity Associates (1986-1994), Executive VP for Alliance Broadcasting Corp. (1994-96), CFO of Entravision Communications (1996-2002) and President, CEO of Radiovisa Corp. (2005-07). She served on the board of directors of Journal Communications, headquartered in Milwaukee, from 2005 to 2015.
Tully was a CPA and studied at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Hawaii in Manoa. She is survived by her sister, Billy Tully, and her niece, Miki DeJean, as well as a large Tully and Cajun extended family, godchildren and hundreds of young men and women in the industry.
The family encourages tributes on the website www.JeanetteTully.com or gifts in her name to the MD Anderson Cancer Center Moon Shots Program (Pancreatic Cancer) and NAB Education Foundation Broadcast Leadership Training Program to support fellowships for women and minorities.
