Posted by chicagomedia.org on October 27, 2009 at 13:37:54:
Former WFLD-WPWR boss Debbie Carpenter returns as sales chief
Debbie Carpenter, out of the TV business since her abrupt resignation as vice president and general manager of Fox-owned WFLD-Ch. 32 and WPWR-Ch 50 three-and-a-half years ago, is returning to the Chicago duopoly as head of its sales operation.
As vice president and general sales manager, a job she held at Channel 32 from 1994 to 2000, Carpenter will report to station boss Mike Renda, who replaced Carpenter's successor, Pat Mullen, in September. The position opened up when Renda didn't renew sales chief Jud Beck's contract earlier this month.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Debbie and we are thrilled to be bringing her back home to Chicago," Renda said in a statement. "Her deep understanding of the market, combined with her proven record and entrepreneurial spirit, made her the ideal choice to lead our sales team."
Before her 23-month stint running News Corp.'s WFLD and WPWR, Carpenter was a senior vice president of Fox Television Sales in New York and for three years was vice president and general manager of WTTG-TV in Washington, a job her late father, Bill Carpenter, had held 20 years earlier.
Carpenter began her career as an account executive at Chicago Tribune-parent Tribune Co's WGN-Ch. 9 in 1982, rising to the rank of local sales manager. After a brief hitch at WPWR, then owned by Newsweb Corp., she moved to WFLD to head sales in 1994.
"I look forward to working with the sales team at WFLD and WPWR to capitalize on our high-profile syndicated, sports and prime time programming and provide our advertisers with unique opportunities on our stations," Carpenter said in the announcement.
Posted at 10:43:51 AM by Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune