Fox Television Stations has named Dennis Welsh the vice president and general manager of WFLD-WPWR, the Fox-owned stations in Chicago.
Welsh is a longtime Fox executive who has been general manager of WOFL-WOGX, the Fox-owned stations in Orlando, since 2010. He replaces Mike Renda, who has been named general manager of WJBK in Detroit.
After announcing Renda’s appointment in Detroit Friday morning, Renda returned to Chicago with Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy. The pair are announcing Welsh’s WFLD appointment to members of the station at 2:30pmET/1:30CT and are expected to address the newsroom later this afternoon.
“It’s a privilege to join a FOX duopoly that is home to top-rated syndicated brands, the Chicago Bears and an aggressive news team,” Welsh said in a statement. “The station has accomplished a great deal over the last few years but there is still much we can achieve and I can’t wait to get started.”
Before working in Orlando, Welsh spent eight years as vice president and director of sales for Dallas Fox O&O KDFW. He has also worked as vice president and director of sales for Fox Station Sales in New York and as VP-GM of WJW in Cleveland, which was owned by Fox when he worked there.
“Dennis brings an impressive range of sales and local news experience,” Abernethy said. “He has done a tremendous job in Orlando and I am confident his leadership will elevate FOX Chicago to the next level.”
Welsh will begin at WFLD on January 7. The release from Fox is after the jump.
DENNIS WELSH NAMED VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF WFLD FOX 32 AND WPWR MY50
NEW YORK – Dennis Welsh has been named Vice President and General Manager of WFLD FOX 32 and WPWR My50, announced Jack Abernethy, Chief Executive Officer, FOX Television Stations (FTS). Effective January 7th, Welsh will be responsible for overseeing the stations’ business and operations, reporting directly to Abernethy.
In making the announcement, Abernethy stated, “Dennis brings an impressive range of sales and local news experience. He has done a tremendous job in Orlando and I am confident his leadership will elevate FOX Chicago to the next level.”
Most recently, Welsh served as Vice President and General Manager of the FOX-owned stations in Orlando, WOFL FOX 35 and WRBW My65, as well as WOGX FOX 51 in Gainesville. Before that, he spent eight years as Vice President/Director of Sales of FOX-owned KDFW FOX 4 and KDFI My27 in Dallas and FOX Sports Net Southwest. Prior to this, Welsh spent one year as Vice President and Director of Sales for FOX Station Sales in New York. Previously, he was Vice President and General Sales Manager of WJW-TV for four years, the then FTS owned-and-operated station in Cleveland. Before joining FTS, Welsh was with WPRI-TV and WNAC-TV in Providence, where he was General Sales Manager for the stations. In addition, he has held sales positions with WLWT-TV (Cincinnati), WPTT-TV (Pittsburgh), WPGH-TV (Pittsburgh), MMT Sales (Philadelphia) and KDKA-TV (Pittsburgh). Welsh began his career as a National Sales Account Executive at Branham Newspaper Sales in New York.
Added Welsh, “It’s a privilege to join a FOX duopoly that is home to top-rated syndicated brands, the Chicago Bears and an aggressive news team. The station has accomplished a great deal over the last few years but there is still much we can achieve and I can’t wait to get started.”
A graduate of the University of Delaware, Welsh holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.
WFLD FOX 32/WPWR My50 are part of the FOX Television Stations group, one of the nation’s largest owned-and-operated network broadcast groups, comprising 27 stations in 18 markets and covering nearly 37.23 % of U.S. television homes. This includes six duopolies in the top 10 markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, D.C. and Houston; as well as duopolies in Minneapolis, Phoenix and Orlando.