Doug Kiel
Vice Chairman and CEO

Doug Kiel joined Journal Broadcast Group in 1986 as vice president and general manager of WKTI-FM. In January 1990, he was named executive vice president of radio for the Journal Broadcast Group. Kiel was named president of Journal Broadcast Group in 1992. From 1992 to 1995, he also served as general manager of WTMJ-TV. In 1997, he was elected executive vice president of Journal Communications, the parent company of Journal Broadcast Group, and became president of Journal Communications in December of 1998. He took on the additional responsibilities of CEO of the Broadcast Group in December of 2001.

Kiel began his broadcasting career at WOMT Radio in his hometown of Manitowoc, Wis., and later became news director of WEMP-AM/WNUW-FM in Milwaukee. Immediately prior to joining the Journal Broadcast Group, he was general manager of Milwaukee radio stations WMIL-FM/WOKY-AM.

"We all talk about wanting to be customer-focused. Everyone in our business talks about building great radio stations. For us, there's no shortcut to that," says Kiel of the company's mission and values. "If we focus on the markets in which we choose to do business, and we're the operator that's closest to the customer, the operator that really believes in integrity and high ethics, we can be the place where people want to do business.

"We still value excellence and performance. We build our products and try to corral the highest-quality people we can. We built an organization where people can do great work and foster the love they have for broadcasting, then we turned that into a company with a strong environment, in terms of respect in the workplace, and a focus on the customer."

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Advanced Executive Program of the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Kiel is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including a Programmer of the Year Award from the Badger Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television. He currently serves on the board of the University of Wisconsin Department of Political Science and LaFollette School of Public Affairs Board of Visitors, Kellogg Alumni Advisory Board, Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), Affiliate Board of the NBC Broadcasting Network and Vice Chair – TV/Chair Elect of the Board of Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.