TYSONS, Va.—Tenga Inc. has promoted Kristie Gonzales to vice president, media operations. In addition to her current role as president and general manager of KVUE in Austin, Gonzales will now also oversee KYTX in Tyler, Texas, and help set the vision for recruiting across Tenga’s 11 Texas markets.

Brad Ramsey, senior vice president of media operations, Tenga, said in a company statement: “Kristie is a proven business and community leader dedicated to developing high-quality content across platforms and serving the greater Central Texas community. In her expanded role, she’ll bring her significant management and marketing expertise to accelerate our leading content, marketing and community efforts across the state, and help lead our vision for recruiting, developing and promoting diverse talent across all of our Texas markets.”

Gonzales joined KVUE, Tenga’s ABC affiliate in Austin in 2016 as president and general manager. During her tenure, KVUE has launched the innovative series “Boomtown,” which highlights Central Texas’s explosive growth, and launched award-winning investigations, including an in-depth look at the death of Javier Ambler, who died in the custody of the Williamson County Sherriff Department, and coverage of Austin’s racial justice protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. In the last two years, the station has won 10 Emmy awards and numerous AP awards, and grown monthly active digital users by 24 percent, averaging more than 4 million visitors a month to KVUE.com platforms.

Prior to joining KVUE, Gonzales held various television management roles across the country, specializing in news branding, multicultural marketing and harnessing the power of digital and social media. Before joining KVUE, she was the promotion and digital brand manager at WABC in New York City.

TYSONS, Va.—Tegna Inc. has appointed Jessica Hagan president and general manager of KTVB and KTFT, Tegna’s NBC affiliates in Boise and Twin Falls, Idaho, respectively, effective November 16, 2020.

Hagan is joining KTVB from KING 5 Media Group, which includes Tegna’s NBC-affiliate KING and independent station KONG in Seattle, where she has been on the station’s leadership team as director of sales since 2016.

“Jessica is an energetic and thoughtful leader with a deep understanding of the media business,” said Lynn Beall, executive vice president and COO for media operations, Tegna. “Her collaborative approach, results-driven focus and experience building community partnerships will be a great addition to the exceptional KTVB team and the Boise community.”

In her current role, Hagan is responsible for the development and execution of revenue and sales strategy. By empowering her team and building a culture of high achievement dedicated to customer service, Hagan has created long-term partnerships and solutions for clients in the Seattle community that deliver ROI for their businesses and drive growth at the station. Previously, Hagan was director of market development at KING, where she was responsible for content revenue strategy for local programming and creating local new business initiatives.

TYSONS, Va.—Media company TEGNA Inc. has appointed Grady Tripp to the newly created position of vice president and chief diversity officer. He will report directly to TEGNA President and CEO Dave Lougee and partner with organizational leaders to develop and execute the company’s diversity strategy.

“TEGNA is proud of our diverse and inclusive culture, but we recognize we must be even more deliberate to ensure that our stations, newsrooms and people are a true reflection of the communities we serve,” said Lougee. “Grady is a respected and trusted leader at TEGNA, and his extensive experience as a change agent makes him a natural fit to develop and drive our efforts to make meaningful change.”

Since joining TEGNA in 2017, Tripp has been an integral part of the company’s people and culture strategy. He currently leads strategy and execution for TEGNA’s talent acquisition team, in addition to leading a team of human resources professionals supporting television stations in 15 markets.

Tripp holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and an MBA in Finance from Florida A&M University.

WASHINGTON—A settlement has been reached between the FCC and Tegna after the Commission threw a flag over an advertisement for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars from WTLV that used Emergency Alert System tones.

The FCC received a complaint on Aug. 9, 2016, alleging that WTLV had “aired a commercial multiple times that improperly used the EAS data burst and tone.” The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau investigated the Jacksonville, Fla., station and found that the advertisement opened with EAS tones accompanies by the sounds of howling winds and thunder claps. Between the EAS tones, a voiceover stated: “This is an emergency broadcast transmission. This is not a test. This is an emergency broadcast transmission. This is not a test. Please remain calm. Seek shelter.” The ad then closes with EAS tones playing in the background.

The ad aired four times between Aug. 6, 2016 and Aug. 8, 2016. After seeing a broadcast of the advertisement, a WTLV staffer halted further airings and contacted station management.

The transmission of actual or simulated EAS tones is prohibited except in cases of an actual emergency, authorized tests, or some public service announcements.

Tegna, which owns WTLV, reached a settlement with the FCC that will see it pay a $55,000 fine, admit to misuse of EAS tones, and will implement a compliance and reporting plan to avoid this type of situation in the future.

The full settlement is available here.