Bruce Barkley New GM Of KHBS-KHOG

Hearst Television today promoted Bruce T. Barkley to be president and general manager of KHBS and KHOG, its ABC and CW affiliates in Fayetteville-Fort Smith, Ark. (DMA 1010).

Since 2012, Barkley has been news director of WYFF, Hearst Television’s NBC affiliate in Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, S.C./Asheville, N.C.

Barkley, who assumes his new role effective July 20, succeeds Shawn Oswald, who was recently appointed president-GM of KETV, Hearst Television’s ABC affiliate in Omaha, Neb. Barkley’s successor at WYFF will be announced later.

In addition to South Carolina, Barkley has held posts in North Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi. As a news director at three different stations, he guided newsrooms to multiple regional Edward R. Murrow, Associated Press and Emmy wins.

“For the last 20 years, Bruce has excelled at stewarding news teams to positions of leadership in two of our markets by focusing on great journalism that serves the local community,” said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb. “He knows first-hand how a local television station can make a difference in the lives of the viewers. We know he and the outstanding team at KHBS/KHOG/Arkansas CW will do a great job building upon Shawn’s outstanding tenure.”

Prior to WYFF, Barkley was news director at WAPT, Hearst’s ABC affiliate in Jackson, Miss., for 12 years. He joined Hearst at WAPT in 2000, after serving as a news director in Columbia, S.C. He previously served in front of and behind the camera at stations in Tennessee, after beginning his career as a reporter in Greenville, N.C.

Barkley has a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from American University in Washington, DC, where he was also captain of the school’s NCAA Division 1 baseball team. He is also a Riley Fellow, having completed the diversity leadership training program at the Riley Institute at South Carolina’s Furman University.