ATLANTA—Gray Television, Inc. is promoting three executives to new leadership positions effective July 1, 2024. The three will work to help the company expand its business opportunities in new digital technologies, including NextGenTV and Generative Artificial Intelligence.
Mike Braun, currently chief digital officer, will be promoted from senior vice president to senior managing vice president. Over the past few years, Braun has led the tremendous expansion of Gray Digital Media to encompass the local media operations acquired from Raycom Media, Quincy Media, Meredith Local Media, among others, as well as the rapid deployment of Gray local news, sports, and weather content and related sales products across hundreds of owned and non-owned streaming and ConnectedTV (CTV) platforms. In addition to leading the Company’s digital initiatives, Braun has served as the senior executive overseeing Rockford and Peoria markets and as a member of the boards of directors of Syncbak and Optic Gaming.
Claire Magee Ferguson will become vice president, assistant general counsel and senior technology counsel. Throughout her career, Magee Ferguson has provided critical legal counsel to the managers of television stations owned by Allbritton Communications, Raycom Media, and, for the past five years, Gray. More recently, she has taken the lead on the Company’s privacy initiatives and its AI Policy Committee. Her leadership positioned Gray to be the first broadcaster to publish Guidelines for Use of Generative AI, which ensure that Gray-originated news content is created by our journalists rather than AI. In her new role, she will oversee legal and policy matters related to various technology initiatives across the Company, primarily associated with Generative AI and NextGenTV.
Lee Zurik will become senior vice president, news strategy and innovation. For the past several years, Zurik has become one of the nation’s most well-known and awarded investigative journalists through his roles as the Company’s vice president of investigations and as the co-host of Gray’s weekday magazine program InvestigateTV+. In this newly created role, Zurik will report to chief operating officer Sandy Breland and lead the development and implementation of strategies to expand and leverage Gray-produced content across all linear, digital, CTV, and NextGenTV platforms and manage the responsible use of Generative AI in Gray-produced content. Along with these expanded duties, he will continue to oversee Gray’s National Investigative Unit and serve as an anchor and Chief Investigative Reporter at WVUE in New Orleans. will oversee legal and policy matters related to various technology initiatives across the Company, primarily associated with Generative AI and NextGenTV.
