KSDK-TV’s Diercks, Beall Promoted
ARLINGTON, Va. — Ardyth Diercks has been promoted to senior vice president Gannett Television. Diercks had been president and general manager of KSDK-TV, the Gannett-owned, NBC affiliate in St. Louis, Mo. In her new role, she will have division management responsibility for six Gannett television stations after the reorganization to replace Pep Cooney, president/KPNX Broadcasting Co. and senior vice president/Gannett Television, who is retiring in May.
Lynn Beall has been promoted to president and general manager of KSDK-TV to replace Diercks. She was most recently vice president/broadcast for the station.
The announcements were made by Cecil L. Walker, president and chief executive officer of Gannett Broadcasting.
“Ardy has made many strong contributions to Gannett Television stations since she joined the company in 1983. She has held management positions at four of our stations and at our corporate office. We are confident that this experience and her leadership style will help our television group achieve greater success,” said Walker.
“Lynn has unique experiences and qualifications that make her a natural fit for the role of general manager of KSDK. We are thrilled to have someone with a regional background and great television knowledge to move into this position. Under her leadership, NewsChannel 5 will continue to demonstrate its commitment to the people of the St. Louis community,” Walker continued.
Diercks joined Gannett in 1983 at K*USA-TV in Denver. She moved to Washington, D.C. as general executive for Gannett Broadcasting in 1987. In 1989, Diercks was named vice president/programming and station relations at KPNX-TV, Gannett’s NBC affiliate in Phoenix. She joined KVUE-TV, Gannett’s ABC affiliate in Austin, Texas, in September 1992 as vice president/general manager and was named president/general manager in October 1994.
Diercks currently serves on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis United Way, the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association (RCGA) and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is a member of the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois organization and the Missouri Women’s Forum.
Diercks is a graduate of the University of Dubuque in Iowa where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree. She attended Northwestern University’s Executive Development Program and the Center for Creative Leadership’s Leadership Development Program. She and her husband, Al, have two children and will continue to reside in St. Louis.
Prior to her position as vice president/broadcast at KSDK-TV, Beall served as general executive/Gannett Broadcasting since 1994. She also served for three years as director of marketing and programming at KPNX-TV, the Gannett-owned NBC affiliate in Phoenix. She joined Gannett in 1988 as national sales manager at W*USA-TV, the Gannett-owned CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C.
Beall began her career in Topeka, Kan. in a news production position, eventually moving on to news editor. While in Topeka, she received her degree in journalism from the University of Kansas. After earning her degree, Beall went through the TeleRep Taft Broadcasting sales and management training program. Upon completion of this program, she joined WDCA-TV in Washington, D.C. as an account executive. She was eventually promoted to national sales manager at WDCA before moving across the street to W*USA.
Beall is married to Paul Trelstad, and they have three children.
KSDK is part of Gannett Broadcasting’s 20 television station group which covers 16.3 percent of the U.S. The other stations include: W*USA (CBS-Washington, DC); WXIA (NBC-Atlanta); WKYC (NBC-Cleveland); KARE (NBC-Minneapolis); WTSP (CBS-Tampa); KPNX (NBC-Phoenix); KNAZ (NBC-Flagstaff); KMOH (WB-Kingman); K*USA (NBC-Denver); WZZM (ABC-Grand Rapids); WGRZ (NBC-Buffalo); WFMY (CBS-Greensboro); WTLV (NBC-Jacksonville); KTHV (CBS-Little Rock); KVUE (ABC-Austin); WBIR (NBC-Knoxville); WCSH (NBC-Portland); WMAZ (CBS-Macon); and WLBZ (NBC-Bangor). Pending FCC approval, Gannett Television will also include WLTX (CBS-Columbia).
Gannett is a nationwide news and information company that publishes 87 daily newspapers, including USA TODAY, and USA WEEKEND, a newspaper magazine. Gannett also has cable television systems in five states.