Kari Patey Named VP Of Producer Development At CBS Stations

Award-winning local news executive Kari Patey has been named vice president of producer development at CBS Stations.

In this newly created position, Patey will be responsible for supporting the recruitment, development and retention of news producers at CBS Stations’ 14 local newsrooms across the country. In addition, she will work closely with Laurie Orlando, senior vice president of talent strategy at CBS Stations, on initiatives such as developing new-hire onboarding programs and providing training opportunities for producers within the group who aspire to become news managers.

Patey will be based at WCCO, the CBS Station in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where she has been vice president and news director since 2017. She will continue to lead the day-to-day operations at CBS News Minnesota until her successor is hired.

The announcement was made today by CBS Stations presidents Jennifer Mitchell and Adrienne Roark, to whom Patey will report.

“We are excited to have Kari move into this new leadership role at CBS Stations,” Mitchell said. “Kari has long been a passionate advocate for producers and considers them to be the lifeblood of a successful newsroom. As someone who has worked as a producer, she understands how challenging these roles are and how important it is to provide our colleagues with the training and support they need in order to be successful.”

“We look forward to having Kari play an instrumental role in helping us find the next generation of producers, and also support the development of producers who are already in house and want to pursue newsroom management opportunities,” Roark added. “Kari is a leader who is liked and respected by her colleagues and will help us make CBS Stations the best place to work in our industry.”

Patey got her start in local news at WCCO in 1999, when she produced the station’s weekday morning newscasts. After six years in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, which also included a stint as a producer at KSTP, Patey moved to New York and spent 12 years with WNBC. While there, she rose through the ranks as a writer and producer to become the assistant news director.

Patey received her Bachelor of Arts in journalism, communications and sociology from Hamline University in St. Paul. She is a National Edward R. Murrow Award winner, a National Emmy Award winner, as well as a New York and Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Award winner.