A leadership change will take place atop SummitMedia Knoxville on February 1 as Chris Protzman will retire after eighteen years leading the cluster under Journal, Scripps and SummitMedia ownership.
Protzman joined the cluster in 2001 and rose to General Manager in 2004. In 2013 he added oversight of Journal’s television properties in Boise, Fort Myers and Lansing as well as leading their television Original Programming Project. When Scripps acquired Journal in 2015, he was promoted to VP/Sales for the radio division, duties he would keep as SVP/Sales when Summit acquired Knoxville and three other markets in 2018.
Kelsey Gresham, who currently serves as Station Manager for Cox Media Group’s Athens GA operations, will return to Knoxville to succeed Protzman. Gresham previously worked in the Knoxville cluster as Local Sales Manager from 2017 to April 2019. She has also held sales positions at the Knoxville News-Sentinel and WVLT-TV in the market.
SummitMedia Knoxville announced today that 18 year veteran Market President Chris Protzman announced his retirement effective February 1st.
Protzman stated “Carl (Carl Parmer – SummitMedia Chairman/CEO) and I started this conversation last Fall and I am delighted with how all the pieces came together.” Protzman added “as I transition into the next chapter of my professional life I look forward to completing my work as Chairman Emeritus of our State Broadcast Association, as well as advancing several non-profit projects near and dear to my heart. SummitMedia has pledged to support these efforts moving forward and I am deeply grateful for their support.”
Carl Parmer stated “Chris has done an outstanding job leading our Knoxville Cluster and we wish him the very best as begins his next Chapter. He was instrumental in helping choose his successor and we couldn’t be more excited for our team”
Gresham stated “I am excited to return to the Knoxville Market and cluster that I managed in 2017 as LSM. This homecoming is both a personal and professional desire for me and my family. Carl’s passion for the Knoxville Operation and our team members drove this perfect fit.”
Gresham continued “I look forward to building on the success and achievements gained under Chris Protzman and am honored to carry on the tradition of high performance at SummitMedia Knoxville”.
Carl Parmer stated “We are very excited to have Kelsey return home to lead our incredible Knoxville Team”.
