Art Daube's Pennsylvania polka

-- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/19/2000

Art Daube, who steered WBRE-TV Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and WYOU(TV) Scranton through the first 2½years of their unusual "shared services agreement," resigned as general manager of wbre-tv.

Daube said that he and WBRE-TV owner Nexstar Broadcast Group President Perry Sook had talked for months about bringing in someone from the outside who could provide a fresh perspective and take the aligned stations "to the next level." Daube said that the May sweeps, in which both stations were down, did not factor into the decision.

Under the agreement, news and promotion at both stations are managed by Nexstar, which owned wyou before selling to Bastet Broadcasting. Sook will serve as general manager during the search for Daube's successor.

Daube's tenure at WBRE-TV preceded Nexstar's ownership of the station, and he had worked in the market before. Station employees have credited Daube with easing the transition to the new, untried arrangement, addressing both structural changes and staff concerns.

He will remain with Nexstar through the year as a consultant, continuing to represent the company at various civic boards and organizations. "I may surface at another Nexstar station," Daube noted.