|
March 18, 2006
 Leonard Named General Manager at WILL AM-FM-TV
Mark Leonard, general manager for Central Washington of KCTS-TV
in Seattle, has been named the new general manager of WILL
AM-FM-TV-Online and director of broadcasting for the College
of Communications at the University of Illinois, pending
approval of the U of I Board of Trustees. He succeeds Donald
Mullally, who retired last year.
Announcing the appointment, effective June 15, Ron Yates,
dean of the College of Communications, said Leonard’s career
spans more than 27 years in public broadcasting, including
senior management positions in Seattle and Yakima, Wash.,
and at WXXI in Rochester, N.Y., where he was vice president
for television.
“He brings vision, energy and creativity to WILL and the
Division of Broadcasting at a time when public broadcasting
needs such qualities,” Yates said.
As general manager for Central Washington at KCTS-TV,
Leonard manages all station operations of KYVE, KCTS’ Yakima
station. He was chief administrative officer at KCTS-TV from
2000-2003.
Leonard said he is looking forward to heading up WILL’s
operation, in part because it’s a combined public media
service with radio, television and new media. “It’s an
opportunity to innovate with new models of service for
public media,” he said.
WILL is a station with a long history and great tradition
that has already built a solid history of service to its
local communities, Leonard said. His experience at other
stations has reinforced his understanding that localism is
an essential value of public broadcasting, he said. “With
the overall consolidation of commercial media, localism is
an increasingly rare but important asset. As a result,
public broadcasting has a unique opportunity to build and
expand upon local strengths,” said Leonard, who worked
briefly in television production for WILL-TV in 1982.
Leonard is a past president of the Washington State Public
Broadcasters Association, where he successfully reversed
declining state support for public television. He is a
graduate of the State University of New York at Plattsburgh,
and participated in the Executive Development Program at the
William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration
at the University of Rochester.
###
Contact:
Mary Barrineau
Public Information Coordinator
WILL AM-FM-TV
217-333-1070
Back to Press Room
|
