Gray Television Names New GMs For Stations Bought from Meredith

By Jon Lafayette
published

New leaders in Atlanta, Phoenix, Nashville, Kansas City, Greenville, and Mobile

Erik Schrader GM Gray WGCL
Erik Schrader will be moving to Atlanta (Image credit: Gray Television)

Gray Television said that when it acquires Meredith’s Local Media Group, it will replace six station general managers with Gray executives.

Debbie Bush Gray WPHO

Debbie Bush (Image credit: Gray Television)

The markets involved are Atlanta, Phoenix, Nashville, Kansas City, Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., and Mobile, Alabama.

Jasmine Hatcher Hardin Gray WSMV

Jasmine Hatcher Hardin  (Image credit: Gray Television)

Andrew Stewart Gray KCTV

Andrew Stewart (Image credit: Gray Television)

Bryce Caldwell Gray WHNS

Bryce Caldwell (Image credit: Gray Television)

Gray agreed to acquire Meredith’s local media group for $2.7 billion in May. Late Friday (Nov. 12)  the FCC approved the purchase. Gray said it expects the deal to close in December.

The new general managers are:

Erik Schrader at WGCL and WPCH Atlanta. Schrader currently runs Gray’s WOIO and WUAB in Cleveland.

Debbie Bush at KPHO and KTVK Phoenix. Bush now runs WXIX in Cincinnati for Gray.

Jasmine Hatcher Hardin at WSMV Nashville. She has been general manager of WVLT and WBXX in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Andrew Stewart will be running KCTV and KSMO in Kansas City, Missouri. He has been GM of Gray’s WOWT Omaha, Nebraska, for the past three years.

Bryce Caldwell was named GM of WHNS in Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., after heading KTTC Rochester, Minnesota, which was recently acquired by Gray from Quincy Media.

Eric Duncan Gray WALA

Eric Duncan (Image credit: Gray Television)

Eric Duncan was named general manager of WALA-TV in Mobile Alabama, For the poast three years, he was GM of KOLD-TV, Gray’s CBS affiliate in Tucson, Arizona.

In a statement Gray said its senior leadership “appreciates the loyal service that these stations’ current General Managers have provided to these Meredith television stations and their local communities.”

But it added that “after careful consideration and extensive analysis over the past several months, Gray concluded that immediate changes in certain Meredith markets would facilitate the prompt integration of these stations into the Gray portfolio of leading local television stations and local digital platforms.”

Gray said that in the next few days it will announce additional General Manager moves and promotions across its current television stations to fill the openings created by Monday’s announcement.

For Meredith, Deborah Cullura has been GM for its duopoly in Atlanta; Kevin James is GM in Phoenix; René LaSpina is GM in Nashville: Charlie Henrich Jr. has been general manager for KCTV and KSMO and Jeff Holub is general manager in Greenville. The GM position in Mobile is vacant.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.