With no end in sight to the legal limbo that mega broadcasters TEGNA and Nexstar are facing to merge into an even bigger mega broadcaster, TEGNA has appointed a new CEO to run the company for the time being.
Patrick Paolini, who was previously a top executive for Fox Television Stations, will take over the CEO slot at TEGNA starting June 1st. Paolini will oversee the daily operations at the station group, including revenue strategies, local journalism endeavors, and future growth plans. He replaces Michael Steib, who departed the company last March. 
TEGNA, which owns Atlanta’s NBC affiliate WXIA TV, 11 Alive, and its sister station, WATL, has to be run as an independent subsidiary of Nexstar following an order by the U.S. District Court of Eastern California last April. This action came after the FCC and the Justice Department greenlighted the merger earlier this year. A combined TEGNA and Nexstar entity would reach 80% of American homes, far above the legal 39% cap mandated by Congress. Several state attorneys general are seeking to block the merger on antitrust grounds.
Paolini served various functions in Fox’s owned and operated TV stations group. He was EVP of advertising sales over the entire group, which includes Atlanta’s WAGA TV Fox 5. He was also SVP and general manager of WTTG/WDCA, Washington DC., VP and GM at WTXF in Philadelphia, and VP and director of sales at WYNY/WWOR in New York City.
“I have tremendous respect for the TEGNA brand, for the outstanding local news delivered across its 64 local television stations and hundreds of digital platforms, and for the company’s dedicated employees and local journalists,” said Paolini in a statement. TEGNA will remain committed to providing the exceptional service our viewers, advertisers, and communities expect, while continuing to innovate and expand across the platforms that define the modern media landscape. I am excited by the opportunities ahead.”
“Patrick is an ideal choice to lead TEGNA,” the company’s board added. “He brings deep expertise in the broadcast television industry, major-market station management, 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.”
Although Nexstar is still pushing for its fledgling merger with TEGNA (the TEGNA website still points to Nexstar’s). Today’s move by TEGNA is a sign that the two station groups are preparing for life apart, in addition to being a fully joined unit in the future.