Tegna has appointed Fox Stations veteran Patrick Paolini as its new chief executive officer on Tuesday, as the company seeks to navigate a court order blocking its proposed $6.2 billion merger with rival Nexstar Media Group, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Paolini brings more than 30 years of experience in local broadcasting to Tegna. He joins from Fox Television Stations, where he has served as executive vice president overseeing advertising sales since 2023.

He is set to assume the CEO role on June 1, taking responsibility for day-to-day operations and local news production. He will report directly to Tegna’s board of directors.

Previously, Paolini managed Fox’s Washington, D.C. television stations, including WTTG FOX 5 and WDCA FOX 5 Plus.

In a statement, Tegna’s board said Paolini brings “deep expertise in the broadcast television industry, major-market station management, and high-quality local news, along with a proven track record of driving revenue growth across linear and digital platforms.”

Paolini will succeed outgoing CEO Mike Steib, who previously led online art marketplace Artsy and digital media company XO Group.

Separately, Nexstar recently asked a U.S. appeals court to expedite a review of a lower-court ruling that blocked its merger with Tegna, arguing that the delay has resulted in tens of millions of dollars in unrecoverable losses.

Tegna currently operates 64 local television stations across 51 U.S. markets. Its proposed merger with Nexstar would have created the largest broadcast station group in the country, reaching approximately 80% of U.S. households.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev