Keith Connors has been named news director at Media General's WTNH-TV ABC 8 in New Haven, CT.
Keith replaces Al Carl who requested a transfer to Media General sister station KSNT-TV NBC 27 in Topeka, KS. Al had been with WTNH for around 3 years, 18 months of that as news director, and requested the transfer due to family reasons.
Keith comes to WTNH from UNews Digital, LLC in Houston, TX, of which he is the co-founder. UNews Digital is a leading edge software company creating the next generation of mobile apps to serve broadcasters and media companies.
Before he founded UNews in 2014, Keith was the news director at WTHR-TV NBC 13 in Indianapolis, IN. In his second of two years at WTHR, the station had big ratings increases over the previous year’s numbers and was first place in the Indianapolis market. Before he arrived at WTHR, the station had been facing six years of declining ratings and revenue.
Prior to joining WTHR, Keith spent five years as the executive news director at KHOU-TV CBS 11 in Houston, TX. During Keith's tenure in Houston, KHOU enjoyed some of the highest ratings its history. The station also won an impressive majority of broadcast journalism's highest honors including two national Emmy awards, two duPont Columbia awards, a Peabody award and six National Edward R. Murrow awards including the 2010 Overall Excellence Award.
Before KHOU, Keith was executive news director at WCNC-TV NBC 36 in Charlotte, NC for 7 years. Starting in 1998 when he joined the station, Keith re-engineered the newsroom, launched the station's first website, and the station's investigative unit. He also added and expanded newscasts to improve coverage, image and profitability.
His turnaround of WCNC captured national attention as the focus of the PBS network documentary "Local News: One Station Fights the Odds". In 2002, 2003 and 2004 the station achieved record ratings and revenue. The news department also won numerous regional and national awards for journalistic excellence during his time there. The station won the regional Edward R. Murrow Award for "Overall Excellence" for five consecutive years and the station's first ever national George Foster Peabody and duPont-Columbia Awards.
Keith has also been a news director at WVEC-TV ABC 13 in Norfolk, VA and WHAM-TV ABC 13 (then WOKR-TV) in Rochester, NY. He was also a managing editor, assignment manager and producer at WKRN-TV ABC 2 in Nashville, TN.
Keith started his career in television news as a producer, then executive producer at WTOL-TV CBS 11 in Toledo, OH.
A native of Jefferson, OH, Keith is a 1982 graduate of Ashland University in Ashland, OH where he studied radio and television.
Keith starts at WTNH on February 16.
