Tribune Broadcasting Names Jerry Kersting Chief Operating Officer

CHICAGO, December 14, 2009 -- Tribune Broadcasting today announced the appointment of Jerry Kersting as its Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Kersting, who joined Tribune Company as Executive Vice President in April 2008, will work closely with Tribune Broadcasting President Ed Wilson overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company’s 23 television stations, its national cable channel, WGN America, and WGN Radio.

"The past year has allowed me the opportunity to work together with Jerry on the restructuring of our stations," said Wilson. "This new role will allow us to build our stations into local market leaders through expanded news content, more vibrant internet sites, and by growing revenue as we continue developing unique solutions for our advertisers. I couldn’t be more excited about the future of our media businesses and look forward to partnering with Jerry to insure our continued success."

The move enables Wilson, who has overseen broadcasting since early 2008 and was named Tribune’s Chief Revenue Officer later that year, to focus even more time and attention on his responsibilities to drive revenue and generate sales across the company.

"Ed has given me a great platform from which to move forward," said Kersting. "We’ll continue to aggressively expand our news offerings and look for ways to build more local programming. At WGN America, we’ve obtained some top-notch programs which begin debuting next fall, so we’re confident we will build audience share. I’m very optimistic about where we’re going."

As Executive Vice President, Kersting had been responsible for identifying strategic opportunities and efficiencies for the company’s various media businesses. Prior to joining Tribune, Kersting served as Chief Financial Officer for the radio division of Clear Channel Communications.