WJCL Savannah GM Timothy Morrissey To Retire

WJCL Savannah, Ga. (DMA 89), a Hearst Television ABC affiliate, said today that Timothy J. Morrissey, its president and general manager since 2014, will retire from Hearst Television this fall.

Morrissey’s successor will be announced at a later date.

“We have been so fortunate that Tim chose to conclude his remarkable career in broadcasting back with Hearst,” said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb. “A consummate broadcaster, Tim’s leadership has transformed WJCL since we acquired the station just a few years ago. We are so happy for Tim and his family as he begins a well-deserved retirement.”

In 2020 WJCL received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award ― the first Murrow award in the station’s 50-year history ― from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). The win was the latest in a two-year streak during which WJCL’s news team was honored by the Associated Press, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters and the Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  The honors were the culmination of a multi-year investment in the station’s news operation and on-air branding undertaken by Morrissey following Hearst’s 2014 acquisition of the station.  Under his leadership, the station has also undergone a rejuvenation in sales, marketing and community service.

Morrissey’s 2014 move to WJCL marked a return to Hearst. He was hired at the company’s WISN Milwaukee while still in college and rose through the station’s news ranks from production assistant to news director. Before his return to Hearst at WJCL, Morrissey was president and general manager of WCNC Charlotte, N.C.

Prior to that, Morrissey was divisional vice president of the New York Times Co. Broadcast Group, until the sale of the group, after having served as its corporate vice president of news. Previously, he was president and general manager at KFOR Oklahoma City and KFSM Fort Smith, Ark., and served in news management roles at (WJZ Baltimore), WNEP Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa., WWL New Orleans.

“Returning to Hearst was, without doubt, the perfect final chapter for me as a broadcaster,” Morrissey said. “I’m honored to have spent a significant amount of my career with Hearst Television, which has an unequaled culture of excellence, news leadership and public service.”

Morrissey is a past president of the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters and served on the boards of the NBC Television Affiliates and the NBC NewsChannel as well as on the ABC News Advisory board.  He also serves on the board of directors of the United Way of the Coastal Empire; he previously served on the board of United Way of the Central Carolinas and was past president of the Loaves & Fishes, a network of food pantries in North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County.

Morrissey received his undergraduate education at Marquette University and is a Fellow of the Loyola University of the South Institute of Politics in New Orleans.