Kelly Frank is rewriting her script in TV news

By Vicki Christian
Fisher College of Business

Five-time Emmy Award winner Kelly Frank has been called a media maverick for putting the heart back into storytelling at CBS News in Philadelphia. She has also been recognized as one of the city’s most influential people for leading a bold rebrand that helped lift the newsroom into the top tier of its market.

The accomplishments underscore what drives the journalist-turned-media executive: a pursuit of continued growth.

When Kelly joined CBS Philadelphia in April 2022, she brought with her more than 20 years of news experience, including stints as executive producer at Fox in Washington D.C., executive producer at CNN in Atlanta, director of news and digital content at WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio, and director of content at WTSP in Tampa, Fla.

Today, she serves as president and general manager of the local businesses of CBS News and Stations in Philadelphia including CBS Philadelphia, WPSG-TV – Philly 57, the CBS News Philly streaming channel and CBSPhiladephia.com.

Her role spans strategy and operations — from shaping the station’s mission, vision and branding to overseeing business operations, partnerships, broadcast production, marketing content and union negotiations. She also helped develop an AR/VR studio to create immersive storytelling experiences.

“For years, someone in this role would usually come from the sales side of the business and then become general manager,” said Kelly, a first-year student in Fisher’s Working Professional MBA (WPMBA) program. “While I came from the journalism side, I also managed multimillion-dollar budgets as part of the business of news. The team that recruited me said, ‘A big part of what you already have is what we need: a people leader who can drive strategic change in a really pivotal time in our industry.’”

That change began with the station’s identity.

CBS Philadelphia was one of the first stations in the country to produce “Eyewitness News,” but Kelly wanted to consider if the brand still reflected the moment.

“Eyewitness News served a very specific concept in a time that made sense,” she said. “Crews would go into communities with cameras and reporters and bring live stories into homes that were never seen before. Unfortunately, and often, it was in the worst moments of people's lives, and it was usually very crime-focused. The world has changed — cameras are everywhere; what we need now is context and understanding.”

When station leadership opened the door to reconsider the brand, she leaned in.

“We invested in a third-party brand agency and it turned out that ‘Eyewitness News’ wasn't what the city wanted,” she said. “In April of 2023, we changed our brand to become very community-focused and created community-based business and marketing partnerships. We began telling stories that amplified community voices and worked to make our communities better places to live.”

While the station had a new focus, they still covered crime but committed to using a wider community lens in their follow-up coverage.

The results followed. The station has grown into a brand leader nationwide. On the Nielsen metered market, it remains a top-5 market based on its size.

In 2024, Philadelphia Magazine named Kelly one of the 150 most influential people in the city, calling her a “media maverick” for leading the rebrand and a storytelling approach that is “finding heart in every beat,” the station’s motto.

“The honor meant a great deal because it was a lot of hard work for our team,” she said. “The chance they took and the investment they made changing our brand was challenging. When they recognized me, it was really more recognition for our team. I just came in and lit a fire.”

The station won the prestigious Emmy for overall excellence in 2023 and 2024 and the coveted Emmy for news excellence in 2025.

Kelly won her first Emmy in 2016 at WBNS 10TV for the station’s coverage of a knife attack on Ohio State’s campus.

“It was breaking news that day, and we did wall-to-wall coverage,” she said. “Everybody covered the story; the difference was WBNS was committed to going back and checking with the university and students over the course of the year and beyond.”

That mindset of community continues to guide her actions now as a station president and general manager.

“The reflection of the community has always been in my DNA in terms of journalism; I think we have a responsibility to the community we serve,” Kelly said.

That philosophy — paired with a rapidly evolving media landscape — pushed her to think about what came next in her professional career.

After completing a senior executive certification program at Harvard Business School in 2023, peers encouraged her to see herself as CEO-ready.

“I kept thinking ‘I’ve always been in television, not business,’” she said. “Everyone said, ‘With your strategy, with your brand understanding, that’s what CEOs do: they take in data and shift change.’”

That ultimately provided the spark for her pursuit of an MBA.

This autumn, the seasoned journalist and Buckeye at heart found her way to Ohio State and the WPMBA program.

Kelly’s connection to Ohio State runs deep. In 1988, her older brother was recruited by Earle Bruce and John Cooper as a quarterback, prompting her family’s move from Southern California to Columbus. She attended Bishop Ready High School, and while she chose Kentucky Wesleyan College for her undergraduate degree, she long considered Columbus home.

“I look back and think I really should have gone to Ohio State,” she said. “The opportunity to be a student now and get a degree at Ohio State checked off multiple boxes. I’m a die-hard Columbus girl.”

As a mother of two daughters and the leader of a demanding media duopoly, flexibility and reputation mattered as she explored different MBA programs.

“I figured I would be a better leader if I could bridge the gaps I was starting to notice in running this business,” Kelly said. “I have a very demanding job, and when I looked at the Working Professional MBA I saw a lot of flexibility in the program, a schedule that worked for me and the ability to tailor the MBA in ways that made sense for not only the business I'm in but if I choose to change careers.”

With streaming and digital platforms reshaping traditional television, she wanted a stronger business lens.

“The case studies in my markets and management class were immediately relevant,” she said. “We did a case study of the monopoly-run diamond industry and their need to come up with a different business strategy, which was very analogous to the industry I’m in. It caused me to think differently and see different perspectives.”

She also values the unique perspective her classmates bring.

“When I first looked around the room, I thought, ‘I'm older than everybody,’ and that was a little intimidating,” Kelly said. “But I appreciate that in group work there is such different generational representation in terms of leadership, strategy and business problem solving. These perspectives have parlayed into my communication and leadership strategy at work.”

Whether in a newsroom, the boardroom or, now in the classroom, Kelly continues to fuel her growth by staying open to reinvention.

“My goal has always been to surround myself with leaders who are experts that I could learn from,” Kelly said. “It’s been inspirational to be around different generations, different levels of education, different careers and different personalities at Fisher.”

“The flexibility the WPMBA program offers is so critical to somebody like me, or anybody who is at a certain point in their career in life. You need that flexibility in order to grow.”