Chicago Media: Jennifer Lyons Named GM At CBS2

Jennifer Lyons, the former WGN-TV news director who most recently helped launch the NewsNation cable news network, is taking the reins at WBBM-TV CBS 2 Chicago as president and general manager.

The Chicago Tribune reports the announcement Thursday fills a void at CBS 2 Chicago after general manager Derek Dalton was ousted last month following an investigation into an allegedly hostile work environment at the CBS-owned station.

Jennifer Lyons

“We feel extremely fortunate to have someone like Jennifer, who has a proven track record of success in Chicago, joining as the leader of our team, products and platforms at CBS 2,” Wendy McMahon, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations, said in a news release.

The move adds a respected Chicago TV news veteran in Lyons, who spent most of her 27-year career at WGN-TV, where she worked her way up to news director in 2014. She was promoted last year to oversee the transformation of WGN America into NewsNation under Dallas-based owner Nexstar Media Group, which bought the cable network in 2019 as part of its $4.1 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Tribune Media.

Lyons recruited the air talent, assembled 150 newsroom staffers and coordinated the NewsNation launch in September 2020. She resigned from the struggling cable news network in March amid shrinking ratings and growing criticism that its programming was drifting to the right of the political spectrum, reneging on a pledge to deliver unbiased reporting.

At CBS 2, Lyons inherits a station embroiled in its own turmoil. Last month, Dalton and Jay Howell, general manager of KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, were ousted after a six-month investigation into an allegedly hostile work environment at the CBS network’s group of 28 TV stations.