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Sam Rosenwasser announced Monday that he will be stepping down as as the vice president and general manager at WEWS Channel 5.
(Lisa DeJong/The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sam Rosenwasser announced Monday, Nov. 17, that he is stepping down as vice president and general manager at WEWS Channel 5. His last day at the station will be Monday, Dec. 15.
E.W. Scripps Co., which owns the Cleveland ABC affiliate, has yet to name a successor. Rosenwasser, 61, has been the general manager at Channel 5 since April 2010.
"It's just the right time," Rosenwasser said. "I've gone through an unbelievable health situation, as you know. I've been in and out of the office so much over the past few years. I don't think it's healthy for the station, and I need to step away and really get my life back in order."
Rosenwasser's health crisis began when his intestines were punctured during surgery for hip replacement.
"That led to peritonitis and a three-month stay in the hospital," he said. "I was unconscious for several weeks, and there were 11 operations in 18 months. And it was a heavy-duty rehab. I had to learn how to walk and talk again. It has been a lot. This is an extremely competitive business, and you have to be running at 100 percent."
Before moving to Northeast Ohio, Rosenwasser was president and general manager of WTSP Channel 10, the Gannett-owned CBS affiliate in the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida, market. He was at helm of WTSP for seven years, accepting an early retirement package in late 2008.
His love of the business lured him back to local television.
"I just couldn't stay away," Rosenwasser said. "I'm not sure now that I'll stay away. I just need a break to see where I am and what I want to do."
He took over the reins at Channel 5 with more than 35 years of television experience in Texas, California and Florida. Before joining WTSP in August 2001, Rosenwasser spent two years as president and general manager of KXTV Channel 10 in Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California. Before that, he was president and general manager at KVUE Channel 24 in Austin, Texas, for three years.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Rosenwasser earned his bachelor of arts degree in radio-television-film at North Texas State University. He began his career at a Dallas station in 1973. He replaced Viki Regan, whose almost two-year tenure as vice president and general manager at Channel 5 ended in March.
Rosenwasser's announcement was made two months after Jeff Harris became the news director at Channel 5. Although Harris has spent the last six years as the news director at KMGH Channel 7 in Denver, he's no stranger to Northeast Ohio. A Cleveland native, he is a graduate of Cleveland Heights High School and Cleveland State University.
"We have a great team in place right now," Rosenwasser. "So the timing feels right."
His departure means that Channel 5 will be the third Cleveland television operation with a new general manager in less than seven months. Dominic Mancuso became the new vice president and general manager at WOIO Channel 19 and WUAB Channel 43 in May. Paul Perozeni became the new vice president and general manager at WJW Channel 8 in June.