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Alan Frank Elected President of Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc; Bill Ryan, CEO, Becomes Chairman
WASHINGTON--Alan Frank has been elected president of Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., the broadcasting subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO).
He succeeds Bill Ryan, who will become chairman of Post-Newsweek Stations and remain chief executive officer, a position he has held since January 1991. The appointments are effective January 1, 2000.
Since April 1988, Mr. Frank, 55, has run WDIV-TV, Post-Newsweek's NBC affiliate in Detroit, as vice president and general manager. He joined WDIV in 1979 as program manager and became vice president of programming and audience development in 1984. Mr. Frank was named vice president of programming and production of Post-Newsweek Stations in 1986.
He also is current chair of the NBC Affiliate Board of Directors.
In making the announcement, Alan Spoon, president of The Washington Post Company, said: "Alan Frank is one of the most talented leaders in broadcasting today. During his tenure, WDIV has been the number one station in Detroit and the number one NBC affiliate among the top 10 U.S. markets. Alan has earned wide respect for the quality and success of the station's local news and community programming. He will reinforce these strengths across all of our Post-Newsweek stations and will surely build on the outstanding record achieved by Bill Ryan over the past decade."
Mr. Ryan said: "Alan Frank has distinguished himself in the industry and among his peers as an outstanding programmer, both locally and nationally. As a manager, he is a consummate team builder. He has all the skills to give Post-Newsweek Stations the leadership it will need to weave its way through the maze of opportunities and challenges in the new millennium."
Prior to joining WDIV, Mr. Frank held a number of television management positions at several stations owned by Group W. He was program manager at WJZ-TV in Baltimore from 1975 to 1978 and at WBZ-TV in Boston from 1974 to 1975. He was executive producer at KPIX-TV in San Francisco from 1972 to 1974 and production manager of the "David Frost Review" in New York City from 1971 to 1972.
Dedicated to community service, Mr. Frank is past chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sparky Anderson's Children's Charity. In 1992 he was inducted into the CATCH Hall of Fame.
Mr. Frank also serves on the Board of Directors of the Henry Ford Health System, Detroit's Children's Hospital, the Detroit Zoological Society, Parade Company, Camp Make a Dream, Metropolitan Detroit Convention & Visitors Bureau and Roeper School.
Mr. Frank is a native of Pittsburgh. He holds a master's degree in television and radio from Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Duquesne University. He served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Vietnam.
Mr. Frank lives in Oakland County, MI, with his wife and three children.
Before becoming president and CEO of Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., Bill Ryan, 58, was president and general manager of Post-Newsweek's stations in Miami, FL, and Hartford, CT.
He recently served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Television Operators Caucus (TOC) and serves on the Board for the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV) as well as on the Board of the Associated Press.
Previously he served as chairman of the Television Board of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and served on the Board of Directors of the Television Bureau of Advertising and the Board of Governors of the ABC Affiliates Association.
Post-Newsweek Stations owns and operates six network-affiliated VHF television stations: WDIV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit, MI; KPRC, the NBC affiliate in Houston, TX; WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami, FL; WKMG, the CBS affiliate in Orlando, FL; KSAT, the ABC affiliate in San Antonio, TX; and WJXT, the CBS affiliate in Jacksonville, FL.
CONTACT: The Washington Post Company, Washington
Guyon Knight, 202/334-6642


