TYSONS, Va.—Tegna has hired Michael Steib as its new President, CEO and a Director, succeeding David Lougee as of August 12, 2024. At that time, Lougee, 65, will retire from these roles and become Senior Advisor, the company said today.

Steib, 48, is currently CEO of Artsy, the world’s largest online platform for discovering and collecting art, after serving as President and CEO of XO Group, parent company of The Knot. Previously, he spent 10 years in executive positions at NBCUniversal and Google launching, scaling, and acquiring advertising-supported businesses. Steib has a track record of developing high-performing teams that build industry-defining products and brands and deliver extraordinary shareholder returns, Tegna said.

He is a published author and has hosted a podcast on leadership and professional development. Steib holds B.A. degrees in economics and international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.

Chairman of the Board Howard Elias said, “Dave has had a great run at Tegna. The Board and I deeply appreciate all he has done to build the company into an industry leader with a strong financial position and a commitment to the communities in which we operate, but we understand his desire to retire as CEO at this juncture. Over the past year, the Board has engaged in a thoughtful and comprehensive succession process to identify Tegna’s future leadership. We are fortunate that Mike Steib will be Dave’s successor working with a top-notch team.

“Mike is a dynamic executive with technology and digital savvy, a passion for local journalism, deep advertising and media experience, a history of developing high performance teams, and a track record of successfully building businesses and driving business model transformation. We are confident he has the broad skill set that will be necessary to chart Tegna’s future at a time of unprecedented change in our industry.”

Mike Steib said, “I believe deeply in the power of local news to connect our communities and strengthen our democracy. And I am excited about the many opportunities to leverage technology to enhance this service and generate substantial value for shareholders. With strong operations in more than 50 key markets across America, a history of exceptional journalism, strong cash flow, and a talented and passionate team, Tegna is incredibly well positioned to seize this moment and build a bright future for local news and community in our country.”

Dave Lougee said, “I am confident that Mike is the right CEO to take Tegna into the future at a time of profound change in our industry, and I look forward to helping him in any way I can. I am very proud of all we have accomplished over the last seven years and have been fortunate to work with a terrific Board, superb management team, and dedicated employees.”

Tegna Adds Two New Independent Directors
Tegna also announced that its Board of Directors has appointed two new independent Directors, Catherine Dunleavy, a senior finance and media executive formerly President of Away, and Denmark West, who heads Market Intelligence and Strategic Engagements at X, The Moonshot Factory, a division of Alphabet. They will join the Board on July 1, 2024.

Catherine Dunleavy is the former President of the travel lifestyle brand Away. She joined Away as Chief Financial Officer in 2020 after three years at Nike, most recently as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Global Operations, Technology and Vice President, Strategic Investments. She has extensive media experience from her 16 years at NBCUniversal, where she served in numerous roles, including Chief Financial Officer of the Cable Entertainment Group and Executive Vice President, Content Distribution. She began her career at General Electric in the Manufacturing Management Program and was selected for its highly competitive Corporate Audit Staff program where she completed five years of rotational assignments across GE’s global businesses. She has had previous public company board experience and is a qualified financial expert.

Denmark West leads Market Intelligence and Strategic Engagements at X, The Moonshot Factory, a division of Alphabet. He has extensive experience in the technology industry, expertise in corporate finance and operations, as well as public company board experience. He previously spent eight years as a General Partner at Connectivity Ventures and seven years at Viacom, including as President of Digital Media at BET Networks and Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations at MTV Networks (now Viacom Media Networks). Earlier in his career, he spent six years at Microsoft in strategy and corporate development roles.

NEW YORK—The recipient of the 2020 Golden Mike Award will be Tegna President and CEO Dave Lougee, the Broadcasters Foundation of America have announced. In the press release for the announcement, BFA Chairman Dan Mason called Lougee “an exemplary broadcaster, who leads his team in serving their local markets with journalistic integrity.”

The award will be presented to Lougee at BFA’s annual black-tie gala on March 4, 2020, which also serves as a fundraiser to support BFA’s mission to provide aid to broadcasters in acute need. The gala will be held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

“When devastation strikes one of our colleagues, it’s good to know the Foundation is there to help,” said Lougee. “I’m so very proud of the generosity of the many broadcasters who support and donate to the Broadcasters Foundation, and I’m honored to receive thri Golden Mike Award.”

In addition to his role as president and CEO, Lougee also serves on the board of directors for Tegna. He also serves on the board of directors for Broadcast Music Inc. and BFA, and is the immediate past chairman of the NBC Affiliates Board and past chairman of the NAB and Television Bureau of Advertising board of directors.

Past winners of the Golden Mike Award have included Perry Sook, Emily Barr, David Barrett, Michael Bloomberg, Bob Pittman, Gordon Smith and Jeff Smulyan.

WASHINGTON—How people watch TV has dramatically changed in recent years, but in the view of some broadcasters, their means of utilizing the evolving marketplace hasn’t kept up with the times, specifically when it comes to advertising. This was a point of topic during the Competition in Television and Digital Advertising Workshop that was hosted by the Department of Justice on May 2 and 3.

“DOJ has the same view of the broadcast TV marketplace today as it did in the 1970s, 80s and 90s,” said Rick Kaplan, NAB executive vice president of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, in his testimony. “Never mind that cable and satellite providers now offer hundreds of channels of high-quality content. Never mind that the internet has thoroughly upended the way consumers access and engage with video offerings.”

Broadcast company TEGNA’s CEO Dave Lougee echoed these thoughts in his own testimony. Referencing how his 19-year-old son watches most of his content through his mobile device, he points out that viewing style is gaining in popularity with not just people of his son’s age, but all ages as it becomes more readily available.

“Advertisers over digital platforms now show ads that look exactly like traditional TV ads, over platforms that are growing viewership rapidly and enjoy extremely broad reach, along with the ability to focus on particular locations or other characteristics,” said Lougee. “These ads are powerfully competitive with over-the-air broadcast ads in the local ad market. And this competition will only grow.”

Kaplan argues that the DOJ’s reasoning for not updating the reach that broadcasters have is no longer adequate. Elements of what gives broadcast advertising an advantage—a combination of sight, sound and motion; a greater reach; and the value of brand awareness—are not unique to broadcast anymore. When it comes specifically to digital, DOJ has made the argument that digital ads are different from broadcast because they can be skipped, minimized or blocked.

“I will let you in on a little secret: you can also do those things with broadcast TV,” Kaplan explained. “It’s called grabbing a snack from the fridge, disappearing to the bathroom, or even just hitting ‘fast forward’ on your DVR remote. In fact, in most cases, it is harder to do an end-around a digital ad, because often you can’t even get to the highly-desired content without first playing one or more advertisements.”

Ultimately, Kaplan states, broadcasters need to be able to have access to this wider world of advertising revenues so they “can meet their obligations and commitments to cities and towns across the nation.”

Dave Lougee

WASHINGTON – At the recent NAB Board of Directors meeting in Washington, Dave Lougee was unanimously elected as NAB Joint Board chairman by the NAB Joint Board of Directors. Lougee, president of TEGNA Media, takes over the position from Charles Warfield, whose term had expired.

Lougee previously served as the NAB Television Board’s chairman; Brian Lawlor, senior vice president for The E.W. Scripps Company was elected to replace Lougee. Jordan Wertlieb, president of Hearst Television, and Marci Burdick, senior vice president of broadcasting and cable at Schurz Communications, were elected as first and second vice chairs of the Television Board.

José Valle, president of political & advocacy sales for Univision, was elected Radio Board chair. Mary Quass, president and CEO of NRG Media LLC, was re-elected as the Radio Board’s first vice chairman, with Don Benson, president and CEO of Lincoln Financial Media, joining her as second vice chairman. Pat Walsh, COO for Emmis Communications Corporation, was picked to the Radio Board’s major group representative seat.

In addition, Mitch Rose, senior vice president of government affairs at NBC Universal, will assume the designated network seat on the executive committee.