The E.W. Scripps Co. promoted Bill Siegel to VP and general manager of WSFL-TV, in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, a station where the company plans to launch a news operation.
The CW affiliate was one of the stations Nexstar sold after acquiring Tribune Co.
Siegel, who is senior director of content strategy for Scripps, starts his new post Jan. 6. He will help identify a news director for WSFL and build a reporting and production team at the station.
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“Bill is a veteran journalist with a well-tuned ability to tell stories that matter to our local audiences,” said Brian Lawlor, president of local media at Scripps. “His experience in overseeing content strategy for multiple markets will serve Scripps well as we build Miami’s newsroom from the ground up and find new ways to serve audiences and advertisers in South Florida.”
Scripps owns six stations in Florida, a key swing state in the upcoming presidential election. Having a news operation in the Miami market will strengthen Scripps’ coverage of politics, as well as hurricane and other storms.
Before joining Scripps in 2015, Siegel was executive news director at WWL in New Orleans. He also worked at WISN in Milwaukee, KMOV in St. Louis, KENS in San Antonio and KESQ in Palm Spring, California.
“I look forward to starting the next chapter of my Scripps career at WSFL as we work to advance local journalism in South Florida,” said Siegel. “One of the highlights of my time at Scripps has been collaborating with our local stations on their content strategies, and I look forward to diving in with a new team to build a newsroom that informs and empowers the community we will serve.”
