Fox Chicago duopoly announces management change with Glenn Berk named new SVP/GM
From WITI Milwaukee, he replaces retiring Sheila Oliver
As first reported by TVNewsCheck Thursday, Glenn Berk has been named Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Fox-owned WFLD and WPWR, branded respectively as Fox 32 and Fox Chicago Plus. He succeeds Sheila Oliver, who announced her retirement yesterday. The move takes place on June 30th.
Berk comes from Fox-owned sister station WITI Milwaukee, where he held the same position. He’s succeeded by Mim Davey, who takes a newly revised title of SVP-Regional General Manager as he continues to oversee Fox’s Minneapolis duopoly of KMSP and WFTC. Both Davey and Berk will continue to report to Fox Television Stations head Jack Abernethy.
Berk previously spent nine years as General Sales Manager of Chicago’s Fox duopoly, before moving to Milwaukee. Berk also ran WHBQ-TV Memphis when that station was a Fox O&O. His association with Fox Television Stations goes back 25 years, with roles in New York and Philadelphia.
Oliver came to WFLD/WPWR two years ago from Seattle to succeed retiring GM Dennis Welsh. During her time here, Fox 32 added more original programming to the Fox Local streaming platform and hired away Paris Schutz from WTTW as the station’s new political reporter and host of Paris On Politics. Fox 32 also added 1st & North, a weekly year-round program football roundtable show featuring sports anchors from Fox’s four stations representing the NFC North (with Milwaukee standing in for Green Bay, naturally), moderated by Lou Canellis.
Last September, WPWR dropped its My50 branding and became Fox Chicago Plus, mirroring a similar move Oliver made when she ran KMSP/WFTC, when WFTC’s My29 transitioned into Fox 9 Plus. WPWR also added more sports to its schedule, adding Chicago Hound rugby, Chicago Fire pre-season games, and Chicago Bandits women’s softball, joining Chicago Wolves AHL hockey. WPWR also added a 10 p.m. Fox 32 news rerun, giving the station a news presence for the first time since Fox acquired the station in 2002.
“We thank Sheila for being a driving force at FTS for more than 20 years and congratulate her on a distinguished career spanning multiple markets,” said Abernethy. “Mim and Glenn are both seasoned Fox Television Station veterans, with deep experience in news and sales, making them ideal leaders to build on our momentum — particularly in local journalism and digital growth. We’re fortunate to have a strong bench of internal talent, and I’m confident both will continue to lead with vision and success.”