Wayne Freedman, the sales and management veteran with Blair, Gannett, Tegna and Raycom is leaving his VP of sales post at American Spirit Media in April.
Freedman Retiring From American Spirit Media
American Spirit Media’s Group VP of Sales Wayne Freedman will retire on April 2. He joined the owner of six TV stations in 2019.
Freedman is a longtime veteran of the broadcast and media industry, having held senior sales and executive management positions on both the sales and client sides of the business. Before joining American Spirit, Freedman had been VP of sales at Raycom Media, overseeing sales for the 65-station group for nearly nine years until it was acquired by Gray TV.
Following his graduation from Northwestern University in 1977, Freedman held sales positions with national rep firm Blair Television in Chicago, Minneapolis and New York. From 1983 to 1989, he was national, local, and VP-general sales manager at Gannett’s (now Tegna’s) NBC affiliate in Atlanta, WXIA.
He became corporate VP of sales for Gannett in 1989. From 1991 to 2001, he was EVP marketing for Atlanta-based Wolf Camera, the nationwide photo retail chain. In 2001, he returned to Gannett as corporate VP of business development before joining Raycom as VP of sales in 2010.
“I’ve been extremely blessed with a career that has had many, many highs and – fortunately — very few lows,” Freedman said. “I’ve worked beside and learned from some of our industry’s truly great and visionary leaders, and I am thankful to so many colleagues and clients for their friendship and support over the years. I am especially grateful to [American Spirit Media President-CEO] Tom Henson for the opportunity to work with him and the terrific group of ASM managers these past two years. We have achieved great results, especially under such unprecedented challenges this past year. I leave knowing the company and our industry have an exciting and lucrative future ahead.”
In commenting on Freedman’s retirement, Henson said: “We have been very fortunate to have someone with Wayne’s experience in this important role with ASM. Wayne has been a sales and thought leader his entire career. He brought us a unique perspective on sales and many other aspects of the broadcast television business that served ASM stations well, and helped us better understand and serve our customers and our communities. We will miss him and wish him all the best.”
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Freedman’s last day (April 2) is also the 44th anniversary (to the day) of the start of his career in 1977, when he joined Blair TV’s first sales associate training program in Chicago.
American Spirit Media owns KAUZ (CBS) Wichita Falls, Texas; KVHP (Fox-ABC) Lake Charles, La.; WDBD (Fox) Jackson, Miss.; WSFX (Fox) Wilmington, N.C.; WUPW (Fox) Toledo, Ohio; and WXTX (Fox) Columbus, Ga.
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