Hearst Television’s savvy station chief will work at Ole Miss school of journalism

Hank Price will retire from his position as WVTM Birmingham president and general manager at the end of the year. He’s held the position since 2014. WVTM is part of Hearst Television.

No successor has been named.

“Hank is the quintessential broadcaster and represents everything we aspire for a Hearst president and general manager to be,” said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb. “Whether inspiring great journalism, mentoring future leaders or guiding our television stations to fulfill their mission of service to local communities, he has been a transformative leader who leaves a wonderful legacy for WVTM and Hearst Television.”

A native of Gulfport, Mississippi, Price will be director of leadership development at the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi.

“From the beginning, my assignment at WVTM was to lay the groundwork for the future,” Price said. “Now is the right time for the transition to a new leader for me and WVTM 13. That said, retiring from the best television company in the business is the hardest decision I’ve ever made.”

Previously, Price was president and general manager at WXII in Winston-Salem/Greensboro, NC. Prior to joining Hearst in 2000, he was vice president and general manager of CBS-owned WBBM Chicago. He transitioned to CBS following 12 years with Gannett’s broadcasting division, where his jobs included KARE Minneapolis VP and general manager and president of programming, marketing and research at WUSA Washington.

Before Gannett, Price was a consultant with Frank N. Magid Associates.

From 2000 to 2015, Price was Senior Fellow/Television at the Media Management Center, a joint project of Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and its Medill School of Journalism.

Price is co-author of Audience First: Managing Today’s News Media and his second book, Leading Local Television, is due out in January 2019.