Chris Cook New GM Of KLFY Lafayette

Nexstar Media today appointed Chris Cook vice president and general manager of its broadcasting and digital operations in Lafayette, La. (DMA 122), including KLFY (CBS) and klfy.com and their related digital and social media channels. He begins his duties immediately and reports to Mike Vaughn, senior vice president and regional manager for the broadcasting division of Nexstar Media.

Throughout his more than 20-year career in broadcasting, Cook has consistently demonstrated the ability to grow ratings, revenue and profitability, as well as build highly effective sales teams and forge deep relationships with the community. He is extremely familiar with the Lafayette market and KLFY, having worked previously in a variety of roles at the station from 1997 to 2014, starting as a videographer for the news department before moving on to become promotions coordinator, marketing director, digital sales manager, and local sales manager.

During his tenure in sales at KLFY, Cook was responsible for negotiating both national and local advertising buys, developing new advertising revenue streams, and driving substantial advertising growth. While serving as digital sales director, he created and developed two new mobile applications focused on news and weather and implemented an innovative “rewards” program for klfy.com, including graphic design, site layout and promotion that resulted in a significant increase in traffic to the station’s website.

Cook joins Nexstar from WISH Indianapolis, where he most recently was director of sales. During his tenure at WISH-TV, Mr. Cook and his team devised and implemented the sales strategy behind the launch of two new hour-long programs: “All Indiana Politics,” a weekly news and political talk show airing Sundays, and “All Indiana Bets,” a weekly sports betting show airing Saturdays and Sundays. Mr. Cook was also instrumental in driving a renewed emphasis on delivering relevant digital content on the station’s website and social media channels, helping increase the number of unique visitors to wishtv.com to more than two million per month.

Prior to joining WISH in 2020, Cook was general sales manager of KLAF and KADN Lafayette, overseeing sales strategy and operations for both television stations and their digital operations.

“Chris is an excellent choice to lead Nexstar’s Lafayette media businesses,” said Vaughn. “He’s intimately familiar with the market, and understands well the expectations of its viewers, advertisers and marketers. He’s thoughtful, innovative, and dedicated to delivering outstanding local content and service to the greater Lafayette area. His long track-record of success, broad experience, and ability to deliver exceptional ratings and sales results through unique local partnerships and superior customer service will serve him and the team at KLFY-TV well. I am looking forward to working with Chris as he assumes his new duties and expect much success in the future.”

Cook attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana/Lafayette) and he has stayed involved with the school of Mass Communication, working with its internship program and serving as a guest lecturer.