Thomas Cookerly, 94, a former top media executive who ran the broadcast division for Allbritton Communications, died January 16 at his home in Bethesda, Maryland, according to The Washington Post.

Cookerly ran Allbritton's ABC affiliate WJLA-TV Washington (since sold to Sinclair) before being named to head the group, which included TV and radio stations.

Cookerly was also chairman of the Television Bureau of Advertising and the ABC TV affiliates association.

"I got to know Tom pretty well while we were serving together on the Library of American Broadcasting Board of Directors," said former top National Association of Broadcasters communications executive Dennis Wharton in an e-mail about Cookerly. "Tom was a true gentleman, raised tons of money for needy kids through The Neediest Kids (a charity that he launched), and was just a wonderful human being."

"I worked closely with Tom as Allbritton’s General Counsel when he ran WJLA," said Jerald Fritz, now executive VP for strategic planning and legal affairs at ONE Media 3.0. "Tom was the consummate broadcast leader at ease with big policy as well as minute details of station operations and always available with a kind word for each one of his employees."

“Tom was a 'Manager’s Manager," said former top Disney/ABC and Fox executive Preston Padden. "[He was] a member of an informal industry group entitled 'The Greatest General Managers.' He was respected and beloved by so many in the Washington Community.”

Cookerly is survived by four children. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Potomac Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 59869, Potomac, MD 20854. ■

Sinclair is changing the name of its NewsChannel 8 regional cable news network to WJLA 24/7 News.

Sinclair bought the news channel when it bought the Allbritton stations, including WJLA Washington, back in 2014, a deal that went a little smoother than Sinclair's current effort to add the Tribune stations and their cable outlets to the company fold.

NewsChannel 8 has long shared the TV station's news resources, including reporter and anchor teams, so now the branding will match up with that reality, as well as spotlighting the TV station's news resources at a time when Sinclair has been pointing out that commitment to Washington.

"[T]he new name is a logical brand evolution for the nearly 30-year-old Washington-area cable news institution," the station said in announcing the change.

That change is effective Tuesday, July 24, four years to the day from when the FCC approved Sinclair's purchase of the station and cable news outlet.