Melissa Crawford Named GM Of KNSD-KUAN San Diego

NBCUniversal today appointed Melissa “Missy” Crawford president and general manager of it San Diego duopoly of KNSD (NBC) and KUAN (Telemundo). She will oversee all station operations including the news, digital, sales, marketing/promotions, community affairs and technology/operations departments.

Crawford will report to Valari Staab, chairman, NBCUniversal Local and will work closely with Manuel Martinez, president, Telemundo Station Group.

“Missy is an inspiring leader. She is very innovative and one of the top broadcast brand directors in the country,” Staab said. “With San Diego being home to two successful stations that operate like one team to meet the needs of the market’s ever-changing communities, Missy is the perfect leader to help both businesses build upon their accomplishments and plan out the next phase in their evolution as our industry continues to change.”

Martinez added: “Missy has been a great partner to our Telemundo 47 team. I’m excited to see what she and our San Diego team will do together to build on the great work they’re already doing.”

Crawford has worked at NBCUniversal Local for nearly 11 years. She takes the helm of KNSD-KUAN after working as vice president of creative and marketing for NBC’s East Coast flagship WNBC New York for the last 10 years.

At WNBC, she charted marketing campaigns including WNBC’s first bilingual campaign that took flight during the Beijing Olympics and featured bilingual spots. The campaign highlighted the partnership between NBCUniversal’s New York stations and their power in working as una sola familia/one family.

NBCU said Crawford’s digital and social promotions have delivered a 2,000% increase in social audience and her most recent work to promote WNBC’s new OTT and streaming products have brought significant increases in video views.

Prior to that, she worked at NBC’s KNTV San Jose, Calif., for a year as brand director and oversaw the launch of the station’s brand strategy while fostering a team environment that encouraged creativity and innovation.

Before that, she spent 15 years at KGO San Francisco. It was there she launched her career in broadcasting as an intern and held creative services roles with increasing responsibility.

Crawford earned a bachelor’s of science degree in marketing from Santa Clara University.