Nexstar Networks President Sean Compton literally grew up in the broadcasting business, hanging out in the studios of Cincinnati's WLW with his legendary dad, Dale "Truckin' Bozo" Sommers, starting his own career in radio as a teen-ager, gaining notice at Jacor Broadcasting, Clear Channel and Tribune Broadcasting before taking on the leadership of Nexstar Networks reporting to Nexstar CEO Perry Sook. (View our Legends & Leaders conversation with Perry Sook here.)
In my Legends & Leaders conversation with Sean, he shares stories from his early career, his connection to WKRP in Cincinnati and the path being taken by Nexstar as it expands NewsNation and takes on the ownership of The CW.
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In addition to five hours of live prime time news daily and a three-hour daily morning show, NewsNation is launching an additional two hours of daytime programming plus the new Chris Cuomo Show. "Perry has often said NewsNation 'is the last great adventure'," Sean shared with me. "I believe it for a lot of reasons. It's not only a great business opportunity as an investment going forward …. our strength across this company is producing news content. And as we morph into the talk side of things, we're introducing talent who are a little less polarizing and doing, in my opinion, smarter television. The other three channels are very successful. They're very profitable. The business hat on me says they're doing a great service for their shareholders. The personal side of me says why is it that it has to be left versus right on everything. Why can't we just get news again and get back to smart debate? So, we offer a balance. We offer smart debate."
Join me on a journey with Sean through the history of radio, learn about his fascinating career path, and gain insight on the future of Nexstar, NewsNation and The CW. Watch the video above.