KSWB GM Schonbak Has Died

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Ray Schonbak, KSWB San Diego VP and general manager, passed away Nov. 20. The local TV veteran had battled cancer and was 70.

Schonbak was born in Pittsburgh and served two combat tours in Vietnam as a green beret. His broadcast career started in Portland, Maine, and his employers in local TV over the years include General Electric, Metromedia and News Corp. He also held corporate roles as group VP at Benedek and president at Emmis, among others. He came to Tribune's KSWB in 2008.

Schonbak is survived by Deborah, his wife of 41 years.

"Ray was respected by all who met him and will be fondly remembered by his many colleagues, co-workers and friends who proudly worked with him these many years," said KSWB in a statement.

Michael Malone
Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.