Tribune Co. investment chief named CEO of broadcasting division

Nils Larsen, chairman of Tribune Co.’s broadcast division since October, has been named chief executive of Tribune Broadcasting, which is streamlining its upper management.

Effective immediately, Larsen, 40, will take on duties that previously belonged to Jerry Kersting, 61, who exits as broadcasting president, a position that is being eliminated.

Larsen remains chief investment officer of Tribune, parent of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, KTLA-Channel 5 and other media outlets across the country.

“Nils is the right person to lead our broadcasting operations,” Eddy Hartenstein, Tribune CEO and publisher of the Los Angeles Times, said in the announcement Tuesday. “He’s thoughtful, creative and has the vision necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the group.”

Larsen is a close associate of Tribune Chairman Sam Zell. Previously managing director of Zell’s Equity Group Investments, Larsen joined the company in 2008. He has overseen Tribune’s business development and investments and helped in the company’s restructuring in his role as investment chief.

In October, after the resignation of Tribune CEO Randy Michaels, Larsen added the title of Tribune Broadcasting chairman and was one of four executives on the council that ran the parent company until Hartenstein, another member of the now-dissolved executive council, was named chief executive of the Chicago-based media conglomerate.

Hartenstein said in a note to employees that, through April, Tribune Broadcasting’s revenue and cash flow for 2011 were “up significantly” compared with a year earlier.

Kersting had been president of Tribune Broadcasting since May 2010, promoted after five months as its chief operating officer when Ed Wilson resigned the post.

Before joining Tribune as an executive vice president in April 2008, Kersting spent nine years as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Clear Channel Communication Inc.’s radio unit — which used to be run by Michaels — and had 34 years of credited service with Clear Channel and related companies.

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