Broadcast TV
Appointments at WNYW(TV) New York/WWOR-TV Secaucus, N.J.: Matt Ohnemus,
creative/design director, ONE80 Visual Communications Group, Boston, joins as VP, creative director; Kate Kelleher,
creative director, WNYW, promoted to director, sales marketing.
Sue Schwartz,
VP/GM, KTVK(TV)/KASW(TV) Phoenix, joins WGCL-TV Atlanta in the same capacity.
Bill Lamb,
VP/GM, WMBD-TV Peoria, Ill., named GM, WDRB(TV) Louisville, Ky./WFTE(TV) Salem, Ind.
Appointments at KRIV(TV)/KTXH(TV) Houston: Karen Koch,
creative services director, KPRC-TV Houston, joins as promotion manager; Ian Phillips,
coordinator, promotions and programming, named writer/producer, promotions.
Cable TV
Diane Schneiderjohn,
managing partner, Carlsen Resources International, San Francisco, joins Charter Communications, St. Louis, as senior VP, marketing and programming.Donna Rattley,
partner, Cole, Raywid & Braverman LLP, Washington, joins Comcast, Washington, as VP/GM, District of Columbia.
Media
Jeff Shell,
president/CEO, Fox Cable Networks Group, Los Angeles, joins Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., Pasadena, Calif., as co-president/COO.
Gregory B. Morrison,
VP, information systems, Prudential Financial Inc., Roseland, N.J., joins Cox Enterprises, Atlanta, as VP/chief information officer.
Programming
Stephen M. Swad,
VP, financial planning and analysis, AOL Time Warner, New York, named executive VP, finance and administration, Turner Entertainment Group, Atlanta.
Laura Nathanson,
executive VP, national sales manager, ABC Television Network, Burbank, Calif., named executive VP, sales & marketing, ABC Family & Kids.
Laurie Zaks,
VP, current programs, CBS Television Network, Los Angeles, joins UPN, Los Angeles, as senior VP, current programs.
Appointments at Hallmark Channel: Roy Cowan,
VP, marketing, Los Angeles, promoted to VP, key account marketing, network distribution & service; Cindy Kelly,
account executive, AOL Time Warner/Cartoon Network, New York, joins as VP, New York sales and new media; Michelle M. Castle,
senior account manager, Weather Channel/weather.com, Detroit, joins as director, Detroit advertising sales; Jennifer Conrick,
national advertising account manager, Great American Country, Chicago, joins as account executive, Chicago; Cathy R. Hicklin,
VP/manager, national broadcast, Mediacom, New York, joins as account executive, New York.
Marv Danielski,
creative service director, WBAL-TV Baltimore, named VP, marketing and creative services, Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., New York.
Appointments at Oxygen Media : Mary Jeanne Cavanagh,
director, Eastern region sales, The National Network and Country Music Television, New York, joins as VP, sponsorship sales, East Coast, New York; George Giatzis,
director, national sponsorship sales, West Coast, San Francisco, promoted to VP, national sponsorship sales.
Rosemary Churns,
VP, program acquisitions and special projects, Myriad International Programming Services, Hoofddorp, Netherlands, joins Universal Studios Television Distribution, Universal City, Calif., as VP, worldwide pay-per-view and video-on-demand sales.
Jorge J. Ferreiro,
senior VP, creative and marketing resources, Fox Family Worldwide, Los Angeles, joins Sesame Workshop, New York, as VP, creative, global consumer products & international television distribution.
Radio
Brian Purdy,
GM, Houston cluster, Clear Channel Radio, promoted to regional VP, Dallas.
Jeff Scott,
program director, KKRW(FM) Houston, joins WQSX(FM) Boston in the same capacity.
Todd Dinetz,
national sales manager, WBAB-FM Babylon/WBLI(FM) Patchogue, N.Y., promoted to general sales manager, WBAB-FM.
Journalism
Ed Pyle,
executive news producer, KNX(AM) Los Angeles, promoted to news director.
Appointments at WCAU(TV) Philadelphia: Chris Blackman,
assistant news director, promoted to VP, news; Dave Parker,
assistant news director, WMAR-TV Baltimore, joins in the same capacity; Tiffany McElroy,
anchor/reporter, KATU(TV) Portland, Ore., joins as anchor; Joe Vasquez,
general assignment reporter, KPRC-TV Houston, joins in the same capacity.
Sophia Choi,
anchor, CNN Headline News, Atlanta, promoted to primary weeknight anchor.
Rick Sanchez,
weekend reporter, MSNBC, Fort Lee, N.J., promoted to weekday morning anchor.
Rob Morrison,
weekend morning anchor, WNBC(TV) New York, named to weekend evening anchor.
Matt Garcia,
reporter, WMAQ-TV Chicago, joins WPIX(TV) New York, in the same capacity.
Tom Negovan,
co-anchor, A-Channel News, Calgary, Canada, joins KYW-TV Philadelphia, in the same capacity.
Advertising/Marketing/PR
Kassie Canter,
senior VP, corporate communications, NBC, New York, leaves to become founder, Canter Communications, New York.
Thomas J. Goff,
senior VP, corporate communications, Global Crossing, Beverly Hills, Calif., joins Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, Los Angeles, as senior VP, corporate reputation management.Craig Broitman,
VP/COO, Millennium Sales & Marketing, New York, promoted to president.
Michael Hugger,
president, Millennium Sales & Marketing, New York, named president, Eagle Television Sales, New York.
Peter Kakoyiannis,
director, East Coast sales, Wink Communications, Weston, Conn., joins Katz Hispanic Media, New York, as VP/general sales manager, HBC National Sales.
Promotions to account executive at National Cable Communications: Bob derBoghossian,
sales planner, Chicago; Doug Gesiorski,
sales planner, Washington; Jeremy Pellegrini,sales assistant, Washington.
Satellite
Appointments at DirecTV, El Segundo, Calif.: Jeffrey D. Torkelson,
VP, communications, promoted to senior VP; James F. Rebman,
VP, administration, human resources, promoted to senior VP, administration, human resources, procurement and site management.
Appointment at Sirius Satellite Radio, New York: Larry Rebich,
chief sales marketing officer, Sekani Moving Media, New York, joins as VP, programming acquisition and marketing development; Jay Clark,
programming director/VP, broadcast, WRKO(AM) Boston, joins as VP, non-music content.
Allied Fields
Catherine Brewton,
senior director, writer/publisher relations, BMI, Atlanta, promoted to assistant VP.
Obituaries
Robert J. Kolb,
a longtime television syndication program executive, died on April 11 of lung cancer. He was 83.
Kolb began his career in broadcast sales in 1954 with WOR(AM) in New York, later moving to the station's television arm, WOR-TV. He was appointed vice president and Eastern sales manager for CBS Films in 1959, holding that post through CBS Films' spin-off to Viacom in 1970. Pegged as a "film" salesman, Kolb sold programs like The Twilight Zone, I Love Lucy
and The Mary Tyler Moore Show
to television stations throughout the country.
Kolb left Viacom in 1971 and joined his longtime friend Jim Victory at Jim Victory Television, where he continued his sales work until his retirement in 1979.
Kolb, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, was also a founding member of NATPE Chicago in the early 1960s.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret; son, Ken Kolb, who is sales manager for Discovery Networks paid programming; and five grandchildren.
Robert Urich,
55, the former star of Vega$
and Spencer For Hire, died of cancer on April 16 in a Los Angeles suburb. The actor, who had the wry manner of Burt Reynolds (and was actually discovered by him), was diagnosed six years ago with synovial cell sarcoma, a rare cancer attacking body joints; he formed a foundation at the University of Michigan to study the disease.
In Vega$, Urich starred as detective Dan Tanna, and it's that role that gave him the most fame. But he also was praised for his performance in the CBS miniseries, Lonesome Dove. He was starring in The Lazarus Man
on TNT when he was diagnosed with cancer, and producers stopped the show fearing he would not be able to keep working. According to Reuters, he later sued the producers for $1.5 million, what he would have received if the show had continued. In remission, Urich had a co-starring role in the short-lived NBC sitcom Emeril
last fall.
He is survived by his wife, Heather, and three children, who were at his bedside when he died.
