Journalists

Photo Name
Talent Name
Wendy McMahon

July 2023

 

A distinguished television stations executive with a record of driving audience growth and business success, Wendy McMahon is president and co-head of CBS News and Stations. Since assuming this role in May 2021, she and Neeraj Khemlani, also president and co-head of CBS News and Stations, have been responsible for bringing together the people and resources of CBS News, CBS News Digital and CBS Television Stations to create the leading local-to-global news organization in the United States.

 

Under McMahon’s leadership, CBS has reimagined its approach to operating the Company’s 27 television stations in 17 major U.S. markets, the stations’ websites and mobile platforms, 14 local news streaming channels, and Newspath, the CBS Television Network’s affiliate news service.

 

Embracing what she calls “The Three C’s: Content, Culture and Community,” McMahon has championed initiatives that have increased the local news hours produced by CBS Stations from 29,000 in 2021 to more than 35,000 in 2023 – with an emphasis on solutions-oriented community journalism that aligns with the stations’ mission of making the markets they serve better places to live. The station group’s expansion efforts also include the creation of the CBS Local News Innovation Lab in Dallas-Fort Worth, where a curated team of journalists produce next-generation storytelling and investigations that leverage data and technology to deepen viewer engagement; the “Newsroom of the Future” at CBS News Detroit; and the first-ever morning news franchise at KCAL in Los Angeles. Under McMahon, CBS Stations has prioritized diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, hired and promoted several women and/or people of color to serve in key roles and dramatically improved the workplace environment for all of its team members.

 

In the past year, McMahon has been recognized for her leadership of CBS Stations by being named as one of Variety’s Women’s Impact Report honorees and a Wonder Woman of Los Angles by Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable.

 

Prior to assuming her current position, McMahon was president of the ABC Owned Television Stations, with direct responsibility for the Walt Disney Company’s eight broadcast stations, local newsrooms and streaming assets. Before that, she was the senior vice president of ABC Digital, where she crafted a multiplatform future for the group and was responsible for leading digital content, products and technology, and audience development strategies and initiatives.

 

Previously, McMahon served as vice president of marketing at KABC in Los Angeles and as a creative services director at CBS-owned stations WBZ in Boston and WCCO in Minneapolis-St. Paul. She began her career as a promotion manager for WTOC in Savannah, Ga.

 

In 2019, McMahon was named the Young Alumna of the Year by her alma mater, Louisiana State University, and the Digital Leader of the Year by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). Throughout her career, her teams have received numerous Emmys, Associated Press and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in news reporting, including the 2020 National Edward R. Murrow Award for breaking news coverage. Her creative teams have also been honored with several Promax, Telly and Broadcast Design Awards for excellence in marketing and brand development.

 

McMahon graduated summa cum laude from Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication – broadcast journalism. She is married to William Burton and they are proud parents of an 11-year-old son.

 

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