Emily Barr, former president and CEO of Graham Media Group, gave an impassioned speech at the B+C Hall of Fame as she was inducted April 14. Barr urged local broadcasters to stay strong amid their mounting challenges. She also blasted social platforms for borrowing from local TV, and networks for shifting broadcast shows to streaming.
Graham Media Group President and CEO Emily Barr talks about her outlook for the upcoming convention.
The veteran broadcasting executive is stepping down later this year. She joined Graham Media Group, then Post-Newsweek Stations, in 2012. Under her leadership, she has transformed the organization from a broadcast-based model to seven local media hubs — each in a top-71 market, representing just under 7% coverage in the U.S. Her successor, Catherine Badalamente, joined Graham in 2000, serving in a number of executive roles, including spearheading the organization’s digital efforts since 2009, most recently as VP and chief innovation officer.
The heads of Graham Media, Emily Barr, and Hearst Television, Jordan Wertlieb, yesterday agreed that local journalism, particularly that practiced by TV stations, was critical to the nation’s well-being. The two made their remarks as they were honored as Giants of Broadcasting and the Electronic Arts by the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation.
Graham’s Barr Offers A ‘Master Class’ In TV Leadership
Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group, enjoys an unrivaled level of respect and admiration among station group chiefs. TVNewsCheck’s Station Group of the Year-winning leader forged her reputation on her exceptional empathy and embrace of innovation. Read part one of this three-part series here.
Led by Emily Barr, Graham Media Group has long been at the vanguard of multimedia experimentation, making bold moves in streaming and on digital platforms. In an era of dramatic industry consolidation, the family-owned group has also remained defiantly independent.
Exclusives
The chief executives of E.W. Scripps, Sinclair, Graham Media and Allen Media see brighter days coming in 2021 with the prospect of the Supreme Court quashing outdated ownership rules and M&A activity heating up, along with core advertising bouncing back from the pandemic. Read the story and/or watch the full video above.
Broadcasters must hold public officials accountable, Graham Media CEO Emily Barr tells TVB conference attendees, and diversify station ranks from the bottom to the top.
Leaders from Sinclair, E.W. Scripps, Graham Media and Entertainment Studios will share their outlook on a momentous year and its implications for revenue prospects, M&A, NextGen TV and an evolving relationship with the networks at TVNewsCheck’s virtual conference TV2025: Monetizing the Future on Oct. 21. Register here.
TVN Executive Session | Graham’s Barr: Pandemic Will Escalate ‘Flexible Work’
Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group, is holding the line against layoffs, furloughs or salary cuts, but still sees a rocky second quarter unfolding. She says being communicative and honest with employees has been the most essential part of managing through an unprecedented crisis.
Graham Media Group President and CEO Emily Barr credits local GMs, news directors and sales leaders with spinning up creative and inspiring efforts to pull their markets through the crisis.
On Group CEOs Minds: FCC Cap, 3.0, Live Programming
Not all broadcasters believe that the cap should go away completely. Graham’s Emily Barr: “The problem is, 39% seems wrong and 100% seems wrong.” Other topics at the TV2020 conference Wednesday: The panelists were extremely bullish on how much live programming will play into the overall health of the broadcast industry. And they expressed enthusiasm for ATSC 3.0, saying that there is no need for a solid business 3.0 business plan to make sense of the massive initiative. L-r: TVNewsCheck’s Harry Jessell, Graham Media’s Emily Barr, Nexstar’s Perry Sook, Fox Television Stations’ Jack Abernethy and Gray’s Hilton Howell. (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)
The top executives of four TV station groups will survey the state of the TV broadcast business and its major growth opportunities at TVNewsCheck’s third annual TV2020: Monetizing the Future conference in New York. Jack Abernethy, CEO of Fox Television Stations; Perry Sook, chairman, president and CEO of Nexstar Media Group; Hilton Howell, chairman, president […]
The CEO of Graham Media was honored by the Broadcasters Foundation of America at the group’s annual event in New York. Above (l-r): Jim Thompson, president of the Broadcasters Foundation; Deborah Norville of Inside Edition; Barr; and Dan Mason, chairman of the Broadcasters Foundation.
The Inside Edition anchor will oversee the Broadcasters Foundation of America’s black-tie fundraiser honoring Graham Media’s Emily Barr. In addition, Pat McLaughlin will accept the group’s Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of her late husband Ed McLaughlin.
The Graham Media CEO will be honored by the Broadcasters Foundation of America in March at the charitable organization’s annual black-tie gala.
Webinar: Optimize, Monetize On Facebook
C-level executives from Graham Media (Barr), Raycom (LaPlatney) and the Dallas Morning News (Moroney) will discuss the challenges of maintaining brand identity and monetizing inside Facebook’s walled garden during a TVNewsCheck webinar: “Optimize, Monetize Your Facebook Strategy.” Set for Tuesday, June 13, at 2 p.m. ET, the webinar, which will also feature Jason White, Facebook’s manager of U.S. news partnerships, will confront the challenges of migrating audiences from Facebook back to media’s owned and operated platforms.
Emily Barr, president-CEO of Post-Newsweek Stations and the former president-GM of ABC-owned WLS Chicago, will be honored as Broadcaster of the Year today by the Illinois Broadcasters Association.
In a memo to staffers, Emily Barr, the president and CEO of the Post-Newsweek stations, is seeking to allay fears within the station group after the sale of WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami, was announced this morning.
Emily Barr, CEO of the Washington Post Co.’s six-station television division says it wasn’t a bidder for Allbritton’s WJLA Washington and will continue its acquisition strategy. “We pay attention to, and consider, any and all possibilities as they come along, but we’re a very disciplined company and any decision to purchase would be consistent with that philosophy.”
The head of Post-Newsweek Stations is named to fill the slot held by her predecessor Alan Frank.
The Washington Post Co.’s station group CEO will step down at the end of the year. He’ll be succeeded by WLS GM and Live Well Network creator Emily Barr, who joins the company in July.
When Oprah Winfrey announced last fall that she would be abdicating her throne after 25 years as the queen of daytime television, it prompted months of tears, long goodbyes and hand-wringing. And that was just among some of the TV executives who carried her show. For Emily Barr, longtime general manager of ABC O&O WLS Chicago, the station where Oprah started as the host of AM Chicago in 1984, it was another call to weather the storm and perhaps catch some lightning in a bottle.
ABC’s Multicast Play: All’s Well With Live Well
Emily Barr (left) and Peggy Allen are the ABC execs charged with developing the programming and expanding the distribution of the O&Os’ Live Well multicast channel. The diginet featuring lifestyle programming aimed at women and produced mostly by the stations is now shopping for additional affiliates with the goal of reaching 50-60% of TV homes by the end of the year. The two outline their strategies and goals as they compete for a valuable — and increasingly in demand — chunk of stations’ spectrum.
