Posted by chicagomedia.org on July 30, 2008 at 09:57:07:
In Reply to: WGN-TV General Manager resigns posted by chicagomedia.org on July 29, 2008 at 17:29:19:
On the heels of layoffs and cutbacks by Tribune Co., Tom Ehlmann announced his resignation Tuesday as vice president and general manager of WGN-Channel 9.
After more than four years at the Tribune television flagship here, Ehlmann is returning to Texas to become president and general manager of NBC-owned KXAS-TV in Dallas.
Appointed interim general manager of Channel 9 was Marty Wilke, who has been the station's director of sales since 2002.
In an apparently unrelated move at Tribune Co., Jill Manuel also resigned Tuesday after three years as news director of CLTV, the cable news channel.
Manuel said she plans to join a broadcast station in another market, to be announced later this week.
Until a replacement is named, her day-to-day duties at CLTV will be handled by Mark Zonca, managing editor.
While Ehlmann's resignation caught much of the market by surprise, the move actually was engineered by another Chicago-based television boss.
As president of the central and western region of NBC Local Media, Larry Wert hired Ehlmann for the Dallas job. Wert doubles as president and general manager of WMAQ-Channel 5.
Calling Ehlmann "an innovative leader who has been a strong competitor in the Chicago market," Wert added: "We're thrilled to have someone of Tom's caliber on our team, returning to Texas to lead our Dallas operations."
Before he joined Channel 9 in 2004, Ehlmann had been vice president and general manager of KHWB-TV (now KHCW-TV) in Houston.
"I'm not running away -- not at all," Ehlmann said Tuesday. "I just found something that made more sense for me and my family. It's a really great opportunity."
The move comes just one day after news surfaced here of at least eight layoffs at Channel 9, including Ehlmann's executive assistant, Helen Hoffmann.
Ed Wilson, president of Tribune Broadcasting, praised Ehlmann for leading Channel 9 "to unprecedented heights as the No. 1 station in the market."
(Feder)