Chris Way, a veteran broadcast executive with strong digital media leadership experience, is the new vice president and general manager for KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska.
Way’s experiences on the digital and technology side of media operations is a fitting match as The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) continues to evolve its stations into multi-platform media organizations with a continued commitment to serving communities and local businesses. Way will join the station on Nov. 28.
Way has more than two decades of experience working in local broadcast operations both in station and corporate roles. He has a strong grasp of all aspects of a television station with his background in sales, technology, news and weather.
“Chris possesses the ideal combination of management experience with expertise in technology and a true recognition of the importance of digital for both our news audiences and our advertisers,” said Debbie Turner, vice president of station operations for Scripps. “We see tremendous opportunities in Omaha where we can really influence the market and positively impact the community through our combined television and radio operations.”
His most recent experiences were with Lakana in Los Angeles working on business development and client services for the content manager platform provider. Prior to that, he was director of digital media for KLAS in Las Vegas and part of the station’s leadership team. Way was responsible for implementing digital media strategy, developing new products and managing the digital team. During his tenure, the station earned numerous awards including the Edward R. Murrow National Award for best TV website in a large market, and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and Peabody Award for data journalism for the station’s series on the foreclosure crisis in Las Vegas.
From 2001-2007, he worked for The New York Times Company, first as director of new media for the broadcast media group and then as chief technology officer for the nine-station group.
His early experiences in the newsroom included serving as director of new media at KFOR in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he managed the station’s website and designed, wrote and edited news content, promotions and multi-platform sales campaigns. He also worked as a digital producer and weather producer at KFOR and KFMB in San Diego.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from the University of Oklahoma.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Way has made a point to give back to the communities where he works and lives by volunteering for local charitable organizations such as United Way and the Clark County Library Foundation in Las Vegas.
He will work alongside Mark Halverson, vice president and general manager for the Scripps Omaha radio group, who has served as interim GM at KMTV during the search.
