Television station company Tegna Inc. Patrick Paolini as its new CEO, effective June 1. The news comes after station giant Nexstar Media Group closed its acquisition of Tegna in March, but the latter has so far operated independently under Nexstar ownership after legal filings from DirecTV and state attorneys general prompted a judge to issue a temporary restraining order on Nexstar’s full absorption of Tegna’s assets and operations.
Paolini joins the company from Fox Television Stations, where he served as Executive Vice President of Advertising Sales since 2023.
“Paolini will be responsible for Tegna’s day-to-day operations, revenue-generating business strategies, local journalism and production, and growth initiatives,” the company said, reporting directly to the company’s board of directors. “Paolini brings more than 30 years of local broadcast management experience and an outstanding track record in sales, marketing and news operations to his new position at Tegna, including management of large-market television stations.”
In his last role at Fox Television Stations, Paolini was responsible for ad sales strategy, initiatives and efforts across the station group. He previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of WTTG Fox 5 and WDCA Fox 5 Plus, the Fox owned-and-operated monopoly in Washington, D.C.
“Patrick is an ideal choice to lead Tegna,” the company’s board of directors said. “He brings deep experience in the broadcast television industry, managing major-market stations, and high-quality local news, along with a proven track record of driving revenue growth across linear and digital platforms. He is an innovative thinker and a proven leader with an established history of success. We look forward to Patrick’s leadership of this great company.”
“Legal proceedings related to Tegna are ongoing,” Guggenheim analysts Carrie Becker and Michael Morris noted in a recent report on the status of the merger. [Nexstar] The administration remains confident that it will prevail on the merits of the case. Currently, Nexstar is bound by the separate suspension order pending appeal…. We would note that Nexstar has full use of Tegna’s cash flow to repay debt, and even without the synergies, the transaction is still materially accretive to our 2026/2027 free cash flow projections.”
