NEW YORK —Derek Schnell, who since 2018 has served as news director of KCRA-TV and KQCA-TV, Hearst Television’s NBC- and CW-affiliated stations in Sacramento, California, has been promoted to regional director of news for the company. He will continue to serve as KCRA/KQCA news director.
In his new position, Schnell will have management oversight for the news operations of the company’s California stations, KCRA/KQCA and KSBW-TV, the NBC affiliate in the Monterey-Salinas market, and its Albuquerque, New Mexico, ABC affiliate, KOAT-TV. He will also be more actively involved in the company’s groupwide news initiatives, according to the company.
“Derek has proven in every role he’s assumed for us that he’s a natural leader with a creative and innovative mind,” said Barbara Maushard, Hearst Television senior vice president & chief content officer, news. “Through newscast expansion, special multiplatform programming, engagement with technological advances and his commitment to journalistic excellence, Derek has further defined the Hearst Sacramento duopoly as the market leader. He will continue to inspire colleagues as he takes on added responsibilities. It’s a natural evolution for Derek and our team.”
Under Schnell's leadership, KCRA and KQCA have expanded coverage as Northern California's news leader, adding 13 additional hours of newscasts each week extending these efforts to digital, social and interactive storytelling. He launched daily linear and digital Spanish content initiatives while increasing the volume of special programming and documentary work. This content has changed laws in California, sparked renewed investment in historically disadvantaged communities and earned numerous national and regional honors across platforms, Hearst said.
Schnell has spent his entire professional career at Hearst Television, from intern to news director. After an investigative internship at KETV in Omaha, Schnell joined KOCO-TV as a producer before becoming an executive producer. He later moved to KMBC-TV and KCWE-TV, Hearst Television's ABC and CW affiliates in Kansas City, where he served as an executive producer, joining KCRA/KQCA in the same capacity before being elevated to assistant news director and news director.
Schnell started his journalism career at KOMU, the university-owned NBC affiliate in Columbia as a student at the University of Missouri.
