2025-26 RTDNA Slate of Board Officers and Directors

In April 2024, the RTDNA Board of Directors passed bylaws changes that put a Governance Modernization plan into action, changing the governance structure of the organization. The slate of RTDNA leaders is now proposed by the Leadership & Development Committee with careful consideration for a diverse group that addresses the coming challenges of the Association and Foundation.

The following individuals will join current board members whose terms expire in 2026 or later: 

Blaise Labbe - Group News Director, Sinclair Broadcast Group 

Blaise Labbe currently oversees the news operations in 12 Sinclair markets in 5 states. He was previously Director of News for Sinclair’s duopoly in San Antonio. He began his career at the ABC affiliate in Lawton, Oklahoma as a studio cameraman in 1984 and was hired in 1986 as a photographer at the CBS affiliate in Wichita Falls, Texas. Within a year Blaise had become a reporter and weatherman for the station. In 1987 Blaise went back to his first love as a photographer and took a position with the NBC affiliate in Amarillo, TX. 

In June 1988, Blaise was hired as a photographer by the Belo Corporation and went to work at KHOU-TV the CBS affiliate in Houston. After eight years as a photographer, Blaise moved into the role of Special projects producer where he and the Special projects team won many awards and helped change legislation in Texas. In 1998 Belo promoted Blaise to News Operations Manager at their CBS affiliate in San Antonio, TX. While there he helped in developing stories that won several Emmys and Regional Edward R. Murrow awards. After serving as News Operations Manager for three years Blaise was promoted to Assistant News Director in 2001. 

In February 2003 Blaise became the News Director at KWTV the CBS affiliate in Oklahoma City. From 2003 to 2008, under Blaise’s leadership, KWTV excelled in ratings, the station finished as the number one late newscast in the country eight times. In March of 2009 Griffin Communications, the parent company for KWTV asked Blaise to lead their online content division.  

Blaise was hired by the Meredith Corporation to head the newsroom at KCTV in Kansas City in February 2010. The station thrived under Blaise’s guidance. The newsroom was named the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Station of the Year three consecutive years, won three Regional Edward R Murrow awards, and was voted the best newscast in the state of Missouri twice by the Missouri Broadcasters Association, and was voted the top broadcast website in the Kansas City Market. The station also won the prestigious Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism beating “CBS 60 Minutes” and “Jim Lehrer the News Hour” The station won 5 Emmys including the 2012 Emmy for News Excellence. 

In 2024 Blaise was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame. Blaise has been recognized by the United States Secretary of Commerce winning the National Minority Business Development Agency’s Cornerstone award. The award is given annually to a member of the media for outstanding community service, media coverage, and commitment to promoting diversity in businesses. He has won several Emmys, a Telly, and two National Awards of Excellence from the National Association of Black Journalists. One for a series he shot and helped produce on the plight of black males in America. The other Award of Excellence was a documentary he helped produce on the 30th Anniversary of the largest Martin Luther King march in the country. He also has several honors from the National Press Photographers Association and the Dallas Press Club. 

Blaise attended Cameron University and majored in Criminal Justice. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). Blaise is a 2002 graduate of the Carole Kneeland Project for Responsible Television Journalism and now serves on its Board of Directors. He is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalist. Member of the San Antonio Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Press Photographers, and The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 

About the Chair-Elect: The Chair-Elect will serve on the board for three years, Year 1 as Chair-Elect, Year 2 as Association Chair, and Year 3 as Foundation Chair. At the end of that term, this individual will Chair RTDNA's Leadership & Development Committee. 

Liz Alesse - Vice President, ABC Audio

Liz Alesse is an accomplished media executive with 20 years of experience in television, radio and podcasting. She currently serves as vice president of ABC Audio at ABC News.

Throughout her career, Alesse has managed editorial teams, developed and implemented content strategies across linear and digital platforms, and produced live broadcasts from the field and the control room, including major presidential campaign events and breaking news.

She began her broadcast career in local television news at Capital News 9 in her hometown of Albany,New York, before moving to Boston where she worked at New England Cable News (NECN) and in the local newsroom of NPR and PBS member station WGBH. She joined ABC News in early 2015 serving as coordinating producer and interim executive producer of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” and later moving into a leadership role on the reporting team that covers the White House and Capitol Hill.

In 2020, Alesse was tapped to lead ABC News’ growing podcast enterprise, which includes the

network’s flagship daily news podcast, “Start Here.” In 2022, her purview was expanded to include ABC News Radio, the nation’s largest commercial radio network boasting more than 1,500 affiliates and digital distributors. Alesse has been named one of the Top 20 Leaders in Radio and one of the Most Influential Women in Radio by Radio Ink Magazine three years running and appeared on the May 2024 cover. Under her leadership, ABC Audio has won numerous radio and podcast awards, including 13 Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Alesse is a graduate of the University of Richmond where she studied English literature and history.

Tyler Chance - Vice President for Product Management, Hearst Magazines

Tyler Chance is currently a Vice President for Product Management in charge of Site Experience at Hearst Magazines, where he has been since 2021.

Before Hearst, he spent seven years at The Wall Street Journal, starting in the newsroom as an art director and eventually moving over to product management, overseeing all of the WSJ's publishing systems, as well as overseeing the paper's newsletters portfolio and launching the Talk project for the 2020 election, which earned a Webby nomination for Election coverage.

Prior to WSJ, he also worked for Gannett in Louisville, Ky., and Lafayette, Ind. 

Beyond newsrooms, Tyler served on the board of directors for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, helped as a judge for contests at Society for Professional Journalists and NLGJA, as well as sat on the curriculum committee for the Online News Association.

Kim Wilhelm - Sr. Executive News Trainer, Gray Media

Kim started as a reporter/photographer nearly 30 years ago and has worked in newsrooms across the Midwest.  She's done many jobs - reporting, shooting, editing, producing, and anchoring. 

She eventually served as the news director for KWCH in Wichita, Kansas, and is currently the Sr. Executive News Trainer for Gray Media.

Kim was elected to the RTDNA Board of Directors in 2022 and is excited about the opportunity to serve again.

She strongly believes in RTDNA’s mission to cultivate and inspire strong leaders while recognizing excellent and ethical journalism — efforts essential to keeping talented journalists in local newsrooms, where they can continue telling impactful stories!

About the Directors At-Large: Directors At-Large will serve a two-year term on the board.  

RTDNA members will have an opportunity to vote on the slate in June at RTDNA25 in New Orleans. The incumbent members of RTDNA's Board of Directors will be: 

Association Chair: Colin Benedict, Morgan Murphy Media
Foundation Chair: Sheryl Worsley, Bonneville International
Association Treasurer: Vincent Duffy, Michigan Public
Foundation Secretary/Treasurer: Jennifer Seelig, KCBS
Foundation Vice-Chair: Robert Thomas, WKYT
Director At-Large: Stephanie Bertini
Director At-Large: Alex Silverman

The newly composed board will elect an individual to serve as a trustee of the RTDNA Foundation.