For Rich O'Dell, Big Ideas from A Not-So-Big Market

10/12/2019

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.

LINK:	https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/for-rich-odell-big-ideas-from-a...
	See more stories from bandc

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026