Veteran TV Exec Don Richards Retiring

Don Richards

Don Richards, former group vice president for Raycom Media and 15 Raycom stations across the country, announced his retirement effective March 31.

Richards is a career broadcaster who has held leadership positions in Oklahoma City, Denver and Tampa before entering the Richmond, Va., market as general manager of Fox affiliate WRLH in 1988.

Richards oversaw operations of NBC affiliate WWBT Richmond from 1998 to 2011, serving as the station’s vice president and general manager.

Richards began his broadcast career in 1974 in radio creative services and sales in Tampa, Fla.

Pat La Platney, co-CEO of Gray Television and former CEO of Raycom Media, said this is what he will miss most about Don: “One, his low-key, but always insightful contributions to business discussions; Two, his “dryer than Death Valley wit; and Three, his keen recollection of key moments in broadcast history that could illuminate a path forward during difficult times.”

Richards is also a past member of the Fox Network Board of Governors and NBC Affiliate Board and advisory board member of the Robertson School of Media and Culture at VCU. In 1999 he was honored with the C.T. Lucy Distinguished Service Award by the Virginia Association of Broadcasters for his leadership in the Commonwealth’s broadcast industry, and then served as their president in 1996. Richards has long been a strong advocate for broadcasters across Virginia and was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in 2014.

Richards will continue to live in Richmond after his retirement, along with his wife, Marsha, two  daughters and five grandchildren.