CBS stations

CBS Stations today unveiled a new California-based investigative initiative, CBS News California Investigates, and appointed longtime journalist Julie Watts as the regional CBS California correspondent.

Aaron Inman and Susie Toma named VPs of local sales; Tim Bennett and Morgan Spatafore promoted to VPs, agency partnerships, while Theo Berenson is elevated to VP, integrated marketing.

The veteran communications exec will support CBS Stations leadership across the company’s 27 owned television stations in 17 major U.S. markets.

The veteran journalist will be responsible for supporting the recruitment, development and retention of news producers at CBS Stations’ 14 local newsrooms across the country.

Ebright is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations for six CBS News and Stations’ local streaming channels in the Western U.S. as well as Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Harner has the same role overseeing eight local streaming channels in the Eastern U.S. as well as Dallas-Fort Worth.

He will be responsible for working with the sales teams at the group’s 27 local stations and spearhead the creation and execution of new business initiatives and the development of strategic cross-platform sales opportunities involving the O&Os.

The in-depth stories come from CBS Stations national environmental correspondent David Schechter and senior photojournalist/producer Chance Horner, and a team of producers and data journalists from the CBS Local News Innovation Lab, which experiments with next-generation, data-driven storytelling.

Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group said it made a deal that will put football games streaming on Allen’s HBCU Go on duopoly stations owned by Paramount’s CBS Station group in 12 key markets. With the addition of the CBS Stations, the football games will be available on TV stations in 60% of U.S. households and 70% of African American households.

Local news executive Chad Cross named vice president, content development, CBS Stations, and veteran CBS Stations executive Andrea Parquet-Taylor named vice president, CW and independent stations news director.

He will be responsible for helping to evolve and strengthen CBS Stations’ branded content and marketing across broadcast, streaming and digital platforms.

Jennifer Mitchell and Tom Canedo have been named the presidents of CBS Stations, sharing the title with Adrienne Roark, who started on Aug. 2. They all will report to Wendy McMahon, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations.

She will have day-to-day responsibility for working directly with the local GMs and their teams at the ViacomCBS-owned CBS Television Network stations in major markets across the country, primarily in the eastern half of the country. CBS plans to name additional Stations presidents at a later date.