Celebrating Women’s History Month with Diane Daugherty, Director of Sales at KREM  

At TEGNA, we are fortunate to find good, innovative females at all levels of our organization. For Women’s History Month, we are celebrating some of our most fabulous females, and today we’re highlighting  Diane Daugherty, Director of Sales at KREM in Spokane, Washington. 

Then: Talk about your career path, how you got to where you are today at TEGNA. 

In 2000, after a very successful career at Nordstrom, I was recruited into media sales at KREM TV in Spokane, WA, where I became a successful Account Executive. I often refer to KREM as the Nordstrom of the broadcast stations in our market. I’ve had the privilege to work with some of the best and brightest talents in the industry both locally and nationally.  

Now: What is your current role at TEGNA? 

Director of Sales at KREM TV. As the leader, it’s my goal every day to lead by example and inspire our team to be the best they can be. 

My Halo Moment: What was the most rewarding project you’ve worked on at TEGNA? 

Our business is changing frequently, we are constantly adapting to change and learning new products or skills. In order to create the best learning environment, you need to first make sure everyone feels safe to be vulnerable and say, “I don’t know” or “I’m struggling.” I’m a cheerleader by nature and work every day in the office to set a positive upbeat tone. 

In 2020  when we took our entire team remote, and we couldn’t see each other face-to-face or overhear in the office that someone was struggling, we knew our leadership team had to be intentional with all their communication. We did this by consistently checking in on our people multiple times a day to ensure they were mentally doing well and if they were struggling, spent extra time with them. As a result, we came out of 2020 with a strong revenue performance and in 2021 won TEGNA Sales Station of the Year.  

Good Company: What does being in good company mean to you? 

Being in good company means that you have surrounded yourself with people that have a like-minded purpose, who have the same high standard to create the best environment to be successful, learn, and to create the best solutions with the best customer service and ultimately create the best outcome.  

Note to Self: What advice would you give yourself looking back on earlier days in your career? 

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Always focus on what you can control, even if it’s just your attitude.  There is so much in our world we can’t control, and it can be paralyzing.  

Tangible & Emotional Intelligence: What advice would you give to a young female looking to work in media/sales/marketing? 

Tangible: Be curious and self-aware, ask lots of questions, and always know the “why” of what you are doing. Always work to be 1% better than the day before. 

Emotional: Be humble, kind, and honest. In our social media world of wanting everything to look perfect, our egos can hinder us from learning, being empathetic, and making promises we can’t keep. 

Why is Women’s History Month important to you?

Regardless of how far we’ve come, we still have so far to go before we are on a level playing field with men. It is a great reminder of all the great things women have accomplished through the years and that we must continue to put in our own work today for a better future.