KFVS news director moving to South Carolina sister station

A change is coming to KFVS12, though its viewers may not notice right away.

After 19 years at the Cape Girardeau television station, news director Mark Little is moving to sister station WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina.

Little, a lifelong Missourian, moved to Cape Girardeau from St. Louis and joined KFVS12 as an assignment editor in 1999.

“I thought I’d be here for two years, and now it’s 17 years later,” Little said.

By 2002, he was the station’s news director, maintaining editorial control over the news content and managing on-air staff.

Little was not looking to leave the area when the opportunity was brought to him.

Dave Thomason, general manager of KFVS12, said Little was seen as a top performer inside Raycom Media, parent company of KFVS12 and dozens of other stations around the country.

Particularly praised were Little’s efforts in digital media.

“He’s been an innovator in that space,” Thomason said.

“Mark has become a leader in the new era of digital content delivery,” Paul Keener, director of marketing at KFVS-12 said in an email. “Instead of avoiding change, he has embraced the new world of delivering news on multiple platforms.”

Thomason said he felt the news-director position in South Carolina’s capital would be a good step up for Little.

WIS-TV, Thomason said, is a bigger operation, and running a station of that size as news director would put Little in a good position should he be interested in being a station’s general manager one day.

“I was not surprised by his decision. He’s been on the corporate radar for quite a while,” said Keener, who worked with Little during his entire tenure with the station.

“While we’ll miss him here, this is a good move.”

Anchor Kathy Sweeney also worked with Little since he began at the station.

“Mark has always been a great guy to work for and work with — smart, aggressive, curious, challenging, but also incredibly compassionate and supportive,” Sweeney said in an email. “While I am excited for him and his family, I am selfishly wondering who is going to be able to fill his shoes.”

Applications are being accepted for Little’s position.

“We’ve been in the interview process for about a month,” Thomason said. “We’re looking for a very seasoned TV news leader with TV news director experience, hopefully.”

Thomason expects to have a candidate selected within the next three to four weeks.

Friday is Little’s last day in the Cape Girardeau station, and he will begin in Columbia on May 25.

“It’s a quick move,” Little said. “KFVS is a legacy station with a lot of tradition. It’s a special place to work. It’s tough to leave.”

bbrown@semissourian.com

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