Roger Ogden, who guided KUSA-Channel 9 to a position of dominance in the local television market, Wednesday was named president and chief executive of the broadcasting division of the Gannett Co. Inc.
His appointment becomes effective July 15.
Under Ogden’s leadership, KUSA rose to eighth place among Gannett’s 21 affiliated stations nationwide. Except for a brief period in 1994-95 – when Ogden was in charge of KCNC-Channel 4 – KUSA’s 10 p.m. newscast has been the city’s top-rated since 1976.
Alluding to the diversification of the communications business, Ogden, 60, said Wednesday, “It’s an interesting time in our industry. I am closer to the tail end of my career than I am to the beginning. This could be the last time I get to do something like this.”
Born in Colorado Springs and reared in Denver, Ogden intends to stay in Colorado. However, he will spend a lot of time at Gannett headquarters in McLean, Va.
“I will be commuting – a lot,” he said. “I’m traveling a bunch anyway.”
It’s still first things first for Ogden, who began his broadcast career at age 13. This weekend, he will go to California to attend the graduation of his daughter, Catherine, from the University of San Diego.
Adele Arakawa, anchorwoman at KUSA since 1993, said Wednesday that the move came with “no inkling.”
“He will be sorely missed by the staff,” she said. “We’ve enjoyed Roger for so long, you take somebody like that for granted.”
Since 1999, Ogden has been senior vice president of the broadcasting division for Gannett – the parent company of KUSA – and station president and general manager.
He joined Gannett’s Denver station, then known as KBTV, in 1967. After a brief stay in Louisville, Ky., he was general manager of KCNC-Channel 4 in Denver in 1981 before becoming president and managing director for NBC Europe, based in London.
In 1997, he returned to Gannett as senior vice president and general manager of KUSA. He was named senior vice president of Gannett Broadcasting and a member of the Gannett Broadcasting Operating Committee in 1999 and was named Gannett’s manager of the year in January.
He was inducted into the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame in November and was named to 5280 Magazine’s list of the city’s 25 most powerful people.
Ogden replaces Craig Dubow, who has been elevated to president/CEO of the entire company and who worked at KUSA in 1981. Douglas H. McCorkindale will continue as Gannett chairman. Ogden’s replacement at KUSA is expected to come from within Gannett.
Gannett is a diversified news and information company that owns newspapers, including USA Today, and television stations and websites. Founded in 1923, the company, which went public in 1967, reported $7.4 billion in operating revenues in 2004.
Ogden, his wife, Ann Penny, who operates a radio station in Breckenridge, and their son, Andrew, a high school junior, live in Greenwood Village.
Roger Ogden
Age: 60
Education: University of Colorado
Career: 1967, joins Denver station KBTV-TV (now KUSA-Channel 9), where he worked in various news jobs; 1977-78, news director of WLKY, a Gannett station in Louisville, Ky; 1978-1981, returns to KBTV as news director; 1981-1995, general manager of KCNC-Channel 4; 1995-97, named president and managing director of NBC Europe; 1997-99, returns to Gannett as president and general manager of KUSA; 1999-present, retains role at KUSA, named senior vice president of Gannett Broadcasting and a member of the Gannett Broadcast Operating Committee
Family: Wife, Ann Penny; children Catherine and Andrew
