WBBM-Channel 2 names Jeff Kiernan as news director

CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 has a new news director, Jeff Kiernan, a native of Munster, Ind. WBBM President and General Manager Bruno Cohen, plucked Kiernan from the news director post at WBBM sister stations WBZ and WSBK in Boston, Mass., where Kiernan had been news director of both CBS-owned outlets for about 18 months. Kiernan starts his new job in Chicago on Jan. 19.

Cohen said he was impressed most by Kiernan's successful efforts to start to turnaround the news ratings at both Boston stations in a very short period of time. ģI liked the flow of the stories in his newscasts and the fact he was delivering better journalism,ē explained Cohen, who said Kiernan's only reservation about taking the WBBM news director job was having to leave the two Boston stations before he had finished his work of improving the newscasts and their ratings. At WBZ, in particular, Kiernan quickly helped move the station's 11 p.m. newscast into first place, while delivering across-the-boards rating growth.

But Kiernan faces a potentially much bigger challenge here in Chicago, trying to lift WBBM's newscasts out of the ratings cellar, where they have been for a number of years now. Though born in the Chicago area, Kiernan has never before worked in the Chicago television market, which may prove a drawback. But Cohen said Kiernan is familiar with the style of news delivered by WBBM's local competitors and the major talent working in the market.

After graduating from Marquette University with a degree in broadcast journalism in 1987, Kiernan worked for a number of years at several stations in the Milwaukee market, before moving to Minneapolis, where he was news director at CBS-owned WCCO-TV. He spent four years in Minneapolis before moving to Boston to become news director at the two CBS stations.