WBIR Knoxville

Tegna’s NBC affil WBIR holds a towering lead over its local competitors on social media in Knoxville, Tenn. according to Shareablee data. Being a go-to platform during the market’s devastating wildfires was one factor that put it there.

The Tegna sports exec will replace the retiring Jeff Lee as head of the group’s NBC affiliate in Knoxville, Tenn.

He’s stepping down from leadership of Tegna’s Knoxville, Tenn., NBC affiliate at the end of the year.

Gannett promotes her from interim news director to head news at its Knoxville, Tenn., NBC affiliate.

Lisa Leko is a producer at WBIR Knoxville, Tenn.  Last year, her station won an Edward R. Murrow Award for best newscast among stations in small markets. Leko recently took part in an RTDNA-sponsored webinar on what makes a newscast worthy of a Murrow, and we think you’ll find that her six pieces of advice are quite sound.

When Gannett’s NBC affliate in Knoxville must make a tough ethical call or simply decide what’s appropriate, it uses Facebook to see what its viewers think. “Instead of us all pretending we know what the viewers are thinking, we should ask them,” says News Director Christy Moreno.

WBIR Knosville, Tenn., News Director Bill Shory is no longer with the station. Shory declined to elaborate on his leaving. Friday was his last day at the Gannett NBC affiliate.

Gannett NBC affiliate WBIR and Raycom Fox affil WTNZ have entered into an agreement that will lead to increased local news programming, including a two-hour morning news show that will usher in high-def broadcasts for the stations’ viewers. When the agreement takes effect March 28, WBIR will begin producing WTNZ’s Monday-Friday evening newscasts, which in coming weeks will expand from the current 35 minutes to an hour at 10-11 p.m. WTNZ’s weekend newscasts will remain 35 minutes.

Both Knoxville, Tenn., stations will be upgrading to high definition around May 1, with Gannett’s WBIR supplying morning, evening and weekend broadcasts for Raycom’s Fox affil WTNZ.