With primary season heating up and the monumental election looming in November, the reporters and anchors at Hearst Television stations are hustling to cover the key issues, and candidates, in their communities. Barbara Maushard manages news operations for the 35 Hearst TV stations, which include WBAL Baltimore, WCVB Boston and KCRA Sacramento. Maushard expects the Hearst TV stations to provide the most timely, relevant and accurate reportage in their markets.
“Local journalism, any journalism, is hard today,” she said. “And I’m just so proud that they continue to deliver really relevant, meaningful content in these markets and provide that service that we are required to provide, but that everybody has a real passion for.”
While every news operation in the Hearst group has its own issues and stories to cover, a couple of group-wide initiatives give the local newsgatherers some common ground. Forecasting Our Future was launched late in 2021 and addresses the issues people face in navigating changing weather patterns and their impact on communities. The stories come from stations, Hearst TV’s Washington bureau and its national investigative and consumer reporting units. Around 120 meteorologists contribute their research and observations to the mission.
I absolutely want to be as active and as helpful as I can be to women, and to men. To anybody who wants to grow in this business.”
Barbara Marshaud
Stories include WESH Orlando’s investigation into how coral reefs damaged by climate change recover and WLKY Louisville’s report on a renewable natural gas plant in Southern Indiana that is turning garbage into energy.
“We really think that effort is critical, not only to the day-in and day-out weather coverage we provide, but to help viewers understand the impact of the weather and the climate in those individual communities,” Maushard said.
Another group initiative is Project CommUNITY, which covers the issues that divide the nation and the efforts to unite communities. Stories include WVTM Birmingham’s “Women Breaking Barriers” series; KETV Omaha hosting and airing a Teen Summit in 2023 that brought teenagers in to talk about key issues; and WBAL hosting a panel in 2020 to address and improve race relations.
All Politics Is Local
All Hearst TV newsgatherers are also focused on election coverage. Hearst TV has partnerships with factcheck.org as well as PolitiFact, both ensuring that viewers get fact-based reporting. Maushard called fact-checking in the era of deepfakes and disinformation “more important than ever.”
As much as the presidential race gets the big headlines, Maushard noted that every market has key issues surrounding local elections, too. “The presidential race is important, is critical and we’re going to be covering that,” she said. “But every state has something. Every community has something that they’ll be focusing on.”
Jordan Wertlieb, Hearst executive VP and chief operating officer, said Maushard is “absolutely tireless” in thinking how to improve local content.
Before moving up to corporate, she had been news director at KHBS-KHOG
Fort Smith-Fayetteville, Arkansas; WISN Milwaukee; and WESH Orlando. Wertlieb said Maushard was a logical choice to slide into a larger leadership position in New York.
“I describe her as one of those great athletes who move into management and just excel because they understand the playing field so well,” he said.
Most of Maushard’s mentors early in her career were men and she’s eager to fulfill that role for aspiring female employees in the Hearst TV newsrooms. She is an executive sponsor of Hearst TV’s Employee Resource Group, and proudly shared that more women are running Hearst TV news operations than men: 16 females and 13 males. She hopes she can inspire more women to move up to leadership positions.
“I absolutely want to be as active and as helpful as I can be to women, and to men,” she said. “To anybody who wants to grow in this business.”
When she’s not working, Maushard enjoys family time, including quality time with her 11-year-old son. She also enjoys singing and had planned to learn piano after retiring, then decided there was no reason not to learn it sooner.
“I’ve been playing for the last few weeks, and I think I might be able to do it,” Maushard said. “I won’t be a concert pianist, but I might be able to play some songs. I’m super-excited about that.”
