Hearst moves him from GM of its WAPT Jackson, Miss., to oversee its NBC affiliate in Louisiana.
Michael Neelly Named WDSU New Orleans GM
Hearst Television NBC affiliate WDSU New Orleans today appointed Michael L. Neelly, president and general manager. He succeeds Joel Vilmenay.
Neelly is a longtime Hearst Television executive, most recently the president and general manager of its ABC affiliate WAPT Jackson, Miss. His successor at WAPT will be named at a later date.
The appointment, effective immediately, brings Neelly to his fourth Hearst Television market. In addition to Jackson, where he has been general manager since 2016, he was a news executive with Hearst stations WLKY Louisville, Ky., and WLWT Cincinnati.
“Mike has done outstanding work at WAPT, leading the station in making significant contributions to the local community,” said Jordan Wertlieb, Hearst Television president. “New Orleans is an extraordinary television market with an audience that appreciates a commitment to impactful local journalism. Mike brings a great depth of experience and a proven record of success to the role. He and the WDSU team are well positioned to grow the station to new heights.”
His 2016 move to WAPT marked a return to Jackson for Neelly, an Ole Miss alumnus who was a photojournalist and producer in Jackson during the early 1990s. Before WAPT, he was news director at WLWT, the Hearst Television NBC affiliate in Cincinnati. While there, he led a rejuvenation of the news operation, overseeing staff expansion and creating an investigative unit. WLWT ascended to the top of Cincinnati newscast ratings in key demographics and earned a 2014 Regional Emmy Award for Special Achievement: News Excellence — the market’s first station to receive the award.
Before WLWT, Neelly served for a dozen years as news director at WLKY, Hearst’s CBS affiliate in Louisville. Between his time at WLWT and WLKY, Neelly was honored with five regional Emmy Awards for News Excellence. He joined WLKY in 1997 as assistant news director.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Prior to Hearst, Neelly was an executive producer at stations in Fort Myers, Fla., and Portland, Maine. He began his television journalism career in 1989 in Jackson. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Mississippi at Oxford.
Neelly serves on the boards of directors of the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters and the Mississippi Food Network and has served on advisory boards for the Jackson Salvation Army and Jackson State University.
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