GM of the Year, Markets 51+: Rich ODell, WLTX, Columbia (S.C.)
For WLTX Columbia (South Carolina) president and general manager Rich O'Dell, success is all about feet on the street.
Already a fixture in the state's broadcasting community he has run the station for 20 years and was inducted into the South Carolina Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2018 O'Dell and his news team were selected by parent Tegna to marshall a pilot program aimed at finding the pulse of the community and producing stories that make a difference in residents' everyday lives.
Rich O'Dell (l.) of Tegna's WLTX is a fixture on South Carolina's broadcast scene.
The result, Street Squad/Deep Dive, has been a catalyst for ratings growth in DMA No. 75. In 2019, the station gained seven news-viewer share points in early evening news to take the No. 1 position this past summer. The change was even more dramatic in late news, where WLTX, a CBS affiliate, picked up 15 points on the No. 1 station in the market (NBC affiliate WIS) between July 2017 and July 2019. According to Tegna, WLTX was three share points behind WIS in July 2017 among adults 25-54, and 12 points ahead by July 2019.
Rich has a rare combination of versatility and humility that makes him one of Tegna's most effective and respected leaders, Tegna executive VP and chief operating officer for media operations Lynn Beall said. As his colleagues know, he's incredibly deserving of this award.
Street Squad came out of a brainstorming session at Tegna's quarterly Innovation Summit. WLTX volunteered to spearhead the pilot for Tegna's 61 stations across the country.
More Local Heroes: Station Group of the Year | GM of the Year, Markets 1-25 | News Director of the Year | Multiplatform Broadcaster of the Year
The shift wasn't easy, as it required reporters to upend their regular routines, but was one the newsroom embraced wholeheartedly. After laying the foundation for Street Squad last year, WLTX fully launched the project in January.
The station overhauled workflow in its newsroom. We got rid of the dedicated assignment desk, O'Dell said. We've gotten rid of the old way of doing things.
O'Dell credited news director Julie Eisenman with the makeover. WLTX has one content team and there is no division anymore between producing for on-air and digital.
WLTXs Street Squad makes coverage more relevant to its residents.
We are developing content, producing content, publishing content constantly, whatever platform it goes on, O'Dell said. A greater focus on community reporting means that reporters no longer make the newsroom the first stop of their day. Street Squad staff start off at a specific geographic location each morning.
They're walking into the hair salon, they're walking into a coffee shop and just striking up conversations with people about what's important to them and their neighborhoods and what should we know about, O'Dell said. We have come up with so many stories that are people-related that are absolutely relevant to individual communities that we never, ever would have known about without talking to people.
Uncovering Hidden Stories
One of those stories concerned the deaths of two residents at a public housing complex from carbon monoxide poisoning, which also forced more than 400 tenants out of their apartments. O'Dell led the charge to find out what really happened at the complex, and the station's investigative Deep Dive Team discovered that gas leaks and other safety hazards were a common problem there. At one point during the investigation, two WLTX journalists who were searching through public documents at the housing complex were handcuffed and detained by private security. O'Dell and Eisenman got their reporters released and made sure they got the records for which they were searching.
As a result of WLTX's investigative reporting, several members of the housing board resigned and the South Carolina legislature took action to ensure closer scrutiny of all public housing in the state.
O'Dell credited Eisenman and the WLTX investigative team for their tenacity in pursuing the story. He's proud of the difference his team has already made in the community. I was at church the other day and somebody came up to me and said, Your Street Squad, those guys are doing what needs to be done,' O'Dell said. I love hearing that. It's not just a marketing technique, they are really out there doing the deed.
Relevancy is the key, localism is absolutely the key and we've found another way to make LTX stand out, he added.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
12/11/2026
RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...
12/11/2026
Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...
12/11/2026
uniqFEED has opened a Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Madrid, Spain. It is already operational, delivering virtual advertising for LaLiga matches. The ROC is ...
12/11/2026
Disney, ESPN and the NBA will present Dunk the Halls, the third real-time animated NBA game using Sony's Beyond Sports data visualization technology, on Chr...
12/11/2026
Van Wagner has launched Van Wagner RELAY, a digital platform for official athlet...
12/11/2026
Deal brings together two of the industry's most established graphics brands and significantly expands Vizrt's footprint in U.S. sports and regional broa...
12/11/2026
Euro TV Production GmbH of Austria has upgraded its outside broadcast vehicle with Lawo technology. The mc 36 Classic console in service since 2019 was replaced...
12/11/2026
Tagboard has launched Spark Resize, an AI-assisted tool now in beta that takes an existing graphic and produces a new version for a different aspect ratio or sc...
GM of the Year, Markets 51+: Rich ODell, WLTX, Columbia (S.C.)
