Timothy J. Morrissey, since 2014 president and general manager of WJCL-TV, Hearst Television’s ABC affiliate serving the Savannah, Georgia, television market, will retire from Hearst Television this fall.
Morrissey’s successor will be announced at a later date.

“We have been so fortunate that Tim chose to conclude his remarkable career in broadcasting back with Hearst,” said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb. “A consummate broadcaster, Tim’s leadership has transformed WJCL since we acquired the station just a few years ago. We are so happy for Tim and his family as he begins a well-deserved retirement.”

In 2020 WJCL received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award―the first Murrow award in the station’s
50-year history―from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). The win was the latest in a two-year streak during which WJCL’s news team was honored by the Associated Press, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters and the Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The honors were the culmination of a multi-year investment in the station’s news operation and on-air branding undertaken by Morrissey following Hearst’s 2014 acquisition of the station. Under his leadership, the station has also undergone a rejuvenation in sales, marketing and community service.

Morrissey’s 2014 move to WJCL marked a return to Hearst. He was hired at Hearst’s WISN-TV in Milwaukee while still in college and rose through the station’s news ranks from production assistant to news director. Before his return to Hearst at WJCL, Morrissey was president and general manager of WCNC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to that, Morrissey was divisional vice president of The New York Times Company Broadcast Group, until the sale of the group, after having served as its corporate vice president of news. Previously, he was president and general manager at television stations in Oklahoma City (KFOR-TV) and Ft. Smith (KFSM-TV), and served in news management roles at stations in Baltimore (WJZ-TV), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WNEP) and New Orleans (WWL-TV).

“Returning to Hearst was, without doubt, the perfect final chapter for me as a broadcaster,” Morrissey said. “I’m honored to have spent a significant amount of my career with Hearst Television, which has an unequaled culture of excellence, news leadership and public service.”