NEW YORK and MILWAUKEE—Jan Wade, president and general manager of Hearst Television-owned ABC affiliate WISN-TV Milwaukee and that market’s first woman GM, will retire at year-end, the station group said.
In departing WISN, Wade caps a career of more than 40 years at top stations in seven major markets, Hearst said. Her successor will be named at a later date.
“I feel blessed to have spent the past four decades working in a profession that I am so passionate about,” Wade said. “I am also greatly honored to have worked beside many valued and talented colleagues all along the way. I will cherish them.
“I am also particularly grateful to have spent the past several years with Hearst Television,” she added. “Finally, it is my hope that I have made a small difference in the stations and the communities I’ve served.”
During Wade’s tenure, she oversaw a substantial expansion of the 70-year-old station’s local news and programming, Hearst said, with the station expanding its weekday morning news and adding newscasts at 4:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. She also oversaw the launch of Sunday-morning public affairs program “Upfront” and weekly sports magazine show “Big 12 Sports Saturday.”
The expanded newscasts helped WISN maintain its market-leading position in local news, Hearst said, with the station’s weekday newscasts winning in every major sweeps period for the past five years. WISN also won several awards in Wade’s tenure, including multiple regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, a national Murrow and designation by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association as its 2023 News Operation of the Year. The WBA has named WISN its Station of the Year 10 times since Wade joined in 2007, Hearst said.
WISN’s community service efforts under Wade were recognized in 2021 with the NAB Leadership Foundation Service to America Award, honoring the station for helping to raise more than $1 million to benefit The Hunger Task Force’s work to feed Milwaukee citizens affected by COVID-19.
“Leveraging her deep industry experience, Jan has led WISN to a consistent level of excellence and quality in all facets of the organization while further solidifying its position as Milwaukee’s news leader,” Hearst Television president Michael J. Hayes said. “Jan is a broadcaster and she has led by example while expanding and strengthening WISN’s important role in the community.”
Prior to joining Hearst and WISN, Wade was president and GM of ABC affiliate WATE-TV Knoxville. Before that, she held leadership roles at stations in Nashville, Tennessee; Tampa, Florida; Providence, Rhode Island; and Minneapolis. She started her TV career at WLKY-TV Louisville, Kentucky, as assistant promotion manager.
She was board chair of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and currently serves on its executive committee and as co-chair of its Diversity and Inclusion Committee; served for five years on the ABC TV Board of Governors; and was a National Association of Broadcasters Ambassador. She was named a Milwaukee Business Journal Woman of Influence in 2017 and has received The Silver Circle Award from the Midwest/Chicago Emmy Chapter.
