Kennedy Named vice President/General Manager at KPNX-TV, Phoenix, Ariz.
ARLINGTON, Va. — Brien Kennedy has been promoted to vice president and general manager at KPNX-TV, the Gannett-owned NBC affiliate in Phoenix, Ariz. He previously held the number two management position as vice president/broadcast at WXIA-TV, the Gannett-owned NBC affiliate in Atlanta, Ga., since August 1996.
The announcement was made by Cecil L. Walker, president and CEO of Gannett Broadcasting. Kennedy replaces Colleen Brown, who resigned to accept the position of vice president/Broadcast Group with Lee Enterprises, Inc.
“Brien’s management experience at our stations in Atlanta, Greensboro and Washington, D.C., will complement the strengths of KPNX. Under his leadership, Arizona’s News Station will continue to demonstrate its commitment to the people of the Phoenix community,” Walker said.
Prior to serving as vice president/broadcast at WXIA, Kennedy was general sales manager from May 1995 to August 1996. Before joining WXIA, Kennedy served for two years as general sales manager at sister-station WFMY-TV in Greensboro, N.C. His career with Gannett also includes the positions of national sales manager and account executive at W*USA-TV in Washington, D.C. He served for two years as a national sales rep for Blair Television in New York. Kennedy’s broadcasting career began in 1984 as an account executive at WASH-FM in Washington, D.C.
Kennedy graduated in 1983 from the University of Maryland with a bachelor of arts degree in radio, television and film. He and his wife, Resa, have three children.
KPNX-TV is part of Gannett Broadcasting’s 21 television station group covering 16.6 percent of U.S. television homes. The other stations include: W*USA (CBS-Washington, DC); WXIA (NBC-Atlanta); WKYC (NBC-Cleveland); KARE (NBC-Minneapolis); WTSP (CBS-Tampa); K*USA (NBC-Denver); KSDK (NBC-St. Louis); WZZM (ABC-Grand Rapids); WGRZ (NBC-Buffalo); WFMY (CBS-Greensboro); WTLV (NBC-Jacksonville); KTHV (CBS-Little Rock); KVUE (ABC-Austin); WBIR (NBC-Knoxville); WCSH (NBC-Portland); WLTX (CBS-Columbia); WMAZ (CBS-Macon); and WLBZ (NBC-Bangor); KNAZ (NBC-Flagstaff); and KMOH (WB-Kingman). Gannett Broadcasting also includes cable operations in five states.
In addition to its broadcasting operations, Gannett publishes 87 daily newspapers, including USA TODAY, and USA WEEKEND, a newspaper magazine.