GREEN BAY, Wis.—Sinclair said Jay Zollar, vice president and general manager of WLUK-WCWF here, will retire Dec. 31 after 26 years running the stations. Station Manager Todd Ziegler will continue in his current role, assuming responsibility for the stations’ day-to-day operations, Sinclair said, ensuring continuity across news, sales, marketing and community initiatives.
“Jay’s impact on these stations is immeasurable—his stewardship helped establish WLUK and WCWF as trusted, market-leading brands,” Sinclair Chief Operating Officer and President of Local Media Rob Weisbord said. “We are deeply grateful for his decades of service and confident that Todd, with his strong operational expertise and collaborative leadership style, will continue building on that foundation.”
Zollar, a Green Bay native, began his television career as an intern at WFRV Green Bay while earning his bachelor’s degree in speech communications at the University of Minnesota. He later worked in commercial production and sales at WFRV before moving to WISN Milwaukee. Next, he moved to WXGZ (now WACY) Green Bay as the Fox network was launching in 1987. He later served as sales manager at WLUK and station manager at WGBA-TV before returning to WLUK, Green Bay’s current Fox affiliate, and WCWF, presently an affiliate of The CW, 26 years ago to run the stations, Sinclair said.
“It has been an incredible journey for me over the past 27 years,” Zollar said. “I am so thankful for those who have gone before me and have been with me now, who have worked so hard to make WLUK the community connection that it is. Since I began here, the vision was and still is to be the overall favorite station to the people of NE Wisconsin, and I believe that we have achieved that vision. We are here to serve the public interest, and I hope that my involvement here has helped us do exactly that.”
Ziegler is a native of Hortonville, Wis., and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh.
Prior to joining WLUK, he spent 10 years as production and creative services director at Sinclair-owned WUCW Minneapolis. He also had a sales leadership post at Green Bay station WIWB (now WCWF) and served as a marketing consultant to WBAY-TV, Green Bay’s ABC affiliate.
He joined WLUK as general sales manager, advanced to director of sales and then to station manager earlier this year. For the past two decades, he has also freelanced with Fox Sports and CBS Sports production crews.
“Jay’s legacy is all about service and connection, and I’m grateful for the path he’s paved,” Ziegler said. “Our goal now is to build on that foundation and continue enriching local lives right here in Northeast Wisconsin.”
