President/General Manager Named at WGRZ-TV at Buffalo, N.Y.
ARLINGTON, Va. — Larry Herbster has been named president and general manager of WGRZ-TV, Gannett’s NBC affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y. He had been vice president and general manager of Gannett’s KOCO-TV, the ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City, Okla. since 1993. Gannett announced the completion of the acquisition of WGRZ-TV as part of a trade with Argyle Television Inc. today.
The announcement was made by Cecil L. Walker, president and CEO, Gannett Broadcasting.
“Larry’s management experience, his industry knowledge, and his familiarity with the Buffalo community will complement the strengths of WGRZ. We are certain that, with his leadership, WGRZ will continue to serve the needs of the Buffalo community,” Walker said.
Prior to serving as vice president and general manager of KOCO-TV, Herbster was station manager of WIVB-TV, the CBS affiliate in Buffalo. From 1973 to 1978, he was assistant to the executive vice president for the broadcast division of The Washington Post Company, Post-Newsweek Stations. In 1979, he joined WDVM, then the Evening News Association’s Washington, D.C. CBS affiliate, which is now the Gannett-owned W*USA-TV. In 1989, he left W*USA to become president of Group Six Communications, Inc. The Group Six properties were sold in February 1992. Herbster also worked, in various capacities, for Time Inc., from 1967 to 1973.
A native of Scranton, Pa., Herbster earned a B.S. degree in 1966 from the University of Scranton and an M.B.A. in 1972 from New York University’s Graduate School of Business Administration. He served on the Professional Advisory Council for the University of Oklahoma’s H.H. Herbert School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association, Oklahoma City Division and served on the Board of Trustees for the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation. He was also on the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Board of Directors for the United Way. He is married to the former Anne Finsthwait.
Gannett Broadcasting consists of 16 television stations reaching 16 percent of the U.S. television homes. Those stations are: W*USA (CBS-Washington); WXIA (NBC-Atlanta); WKYC (NBC-Cleveland); KARE (NBC-Minneapolis); WTSP (CBS-Tampa); KPNX (NBC-Phoenix); K*USA (NBC-Denver); KSDK (NBC-St. Louis); WZZM-TV (ABC-Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek); WGRZ-TV (NBC-Buffalo); WFMY (CBS-Greensboro); WTLV (NBC-Jacksonville); KTHV (CBS-Little Rock); WBIR (NBC-Knoxville); KVUE (ABC-Austin); and WMAZ (CBS-Macon). Gannett Broadcasting also includes cable operations in five states, alarm security services and five radio stations.
In addition to its broadcasting operations, Gannett publishes 92 daily newspapers, including USA TODAY, and USA WEEKEND a newspaper magazine.