Gray Promotes Ronna Corrente and Mikel Schaefer to Lead Its Louisville and New Orleans Television Stations
Gray Television announced key management changes effective September 7, 2021. Ronna Corrente, currently General Manager of WVUE Fox 8 in New Orleans, will take over as General Manager of WAVE 3 in Louisville. Mikel Schaefer, current News Director at WVUE, will assume Corrente's role, succeeded by Kristen Palestina, the station's Assistant News Director. Corrente has a successful track record, including significant awards for her leadership. Gray Television continues to expand its influence, soon becoming the second-largest broadcaster in the U.S.
- Ronna Corrente's leadership has resulted in multiple awards for WVUE, including a National Headliner Award and regional Edward R. Murrow awards.
- Under Mikel Schaefer, WVUE saw a doubling in local news production and received prestigious awards, including two Alfred I. duPont awards.
- None.
ATLANTA , Aug. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gray Television, Inc. (“Gray”) (NYSE: GTN) announced today that Ronna Corrente, the General Manager of Gray’s WVUE Fox 8 in New Orleans, Louisiana, will become the General Manager of Gray’s WAVE 3 in Louisville, Kentucky. She will be succeeded by WVUE Fox 8’s current News Director, Mikel Schaefer, who in turn will be succeeded by the station’s current Assistant News Director, Kristen Palestina. All three promotions are effective September 7, 2021.
Ronna Corrente started her career in television at the Fox affiliate WDKY-TV in her home state of Kentucky in 1995. Over the next several years, she rose through the ranks to General Sales Manager and later General Manager. In February 2018, she moved to Baton Rouge to become General Manager of Gray’s WAFB(TV). Under Ronna’s leadership, WAFB earned numerous EMMY and Associated Press Awards for news content as well as its first-ever National Edward R. Murrow Award. In 2019, the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters named WAFB its Station of the Year. Since February 2020, Ronna has served as the General Manager of WVUE in New Orleans. During her tenure, the station won a 2021 National Headliner Award, a national Edward R. Murrow award just two days ago in the Investigative Reporting category, as well as a regional Murrow award for best newscast (Fox 8 News at 10pm), and a regional Murrow award for breaking news covering Hurricane Zeta.
Mikel Schaefer started his career in broadcast journalism while still in college in 1984 at the CBS affiliate in New Orleans. He held numerous positions at that station before moving to WVUE in November 2008 to become the station’s News Director. Under Schaefer’s leadership, WVUE-TV doubled the local news production and won a prestigious George Foster Peabody award, two consecutive Alfred I. duPont awards for investigative journalism and 16 national Edward R. Murrow awards. Schaefer also published “Lost in Katrina” following the storm.
About Gray Television:
Gray Television, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States. Upon its anticipated acquisition of the television stations of Meredith Corporation, Gray will become the nation’s second largest television broadcaster, with television stations serving 113 markets that reach approximately 36 percent of US television households. The pro forma portfolio includes 79 markets with the top-rated television station and 101 markets with the first and/or second highest rated television station according to Comscore’s audience measurement data. Gray also owns video program production, marketing, and digital businesses including Raycom Sports, Tupelo Honey, and RTM Studios, the producer of PowerNation programs and content and is the majority owner of Swirl Films.
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