EP 58: INCREDIBLE STORIES FROM INSPIRING WOMEN: Kelly Frank Is The Newsmaker Behind The News

Award-winning journalist Kelly Frank oversees the daily operations of the television newsroom, social media platforms, and website for WTSP, the CBS affiliate in Tampa, Florida - the 13th largest media market in the country. As the station’s director of content, Kelly is helping to shape the way that news is presented, and she’s “On The Record With Sarina Fazan” to talk about the path she took to get here and what it means to be a female leader in media today.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way that the news is delivered and how newsrooms operate across the globe. “What leaders really had to do in COVID is be very aware of mental health, be very aware of how people were dealing with life outside of work, and that was something that was very different,” Kelly explains.

She continues, “So there was the tactical of all it. We had to, basically overnight, move a newsroom from this facility with all of our technology into homes all over Tampa Bay. But, in addition to that, once we got that up and running, we had to then continue the process of putting the news on the air, which was very daunting information in and of itself, added to caring for the people that were giving the messages.”

10 months after the start of the pandemic, Kelly thinks that newsroom operations are forever changed, especially with the technological advances that allow for more remote positions. “Personally, I don’t know that we’ll ever have the newsroom that we once did, and I grieve that,” she expresses.

While guiding her news team through this global crisis, Kelly also has her eye on the future. WTSP is the official media partner of the host committee for the Super Bowl LV, and she is excited to plan the media coverage of the big game – especially if the hometown team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is playing! 

Agility in planning is key, especially due to COVID-19 restrictions. “We know that we’ll be out at the Super Bowl Experience, broadcasting live. We’re going to have an area right outside of Ray Jay [Raymond James Stadium], where we’re going to broadcast. We’re going to give some incredible coverage. We’re going to add special coverage to it. It’s a ton of fun to be the partner. Even if it’s going to be a limited capacity, we know that the events are going to be safe, they’re going to be a lot of fun. Everyone on the host committee is so focused on showcasing Tampa, even in a COVID environment, it’s going to a phenomenal experience. We have such a great city,” Kelly says.

She arrived in Tampa Bay just three years ago, taking on the role of director of content at WTSP and joining another phenomenal female leader at the station, president and general manager Kari Jacobs.  

Kelly came to WTSP from WBNS in Columbus, Ohio, where she served as the director of news and digital content. Under her oversight, the WBNS news team won six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, 27 Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Awards including the First Amendment Award, and 32 Associated Press Awards. WBNS also was nominated for 83 Emmys with 39 wins, including News Excellence & Overall Excellence. 

But this award-winning journalist didn’t even intend a career in television! “My shift to journalism was actually kind of a fluke. I did not have it figured out at 21 like a lot of kids today,” Kelly laughs.

After one year in graduate school, she moved to Washington, D.C. to start a job in public relations. But, with a father who was the host /executive producer of his own magazine-style entertainment show and her sister who was a journalist, she soon realized that television was her calling. 

As a production assistant for her father’s show, which was syndicated to Fox Cable Networks, Kelly earned a hands-on education from the crew, learning behind-the-scenes skills that most news producers would not receive. She also was an aspiring writer, pitching story ideas to the production team. Finally getting the opportunity to produce a segment, Kelly managed to create an entire half-hour program instead! She realized then that she had a passion for producing, and her sister suggested that she consider transitioning from entertainment to news.

And it was her sister’s influence that led to her first job in the newsroom at WCMH in Columbus, Ohio. The station manager, who was another fierce female leader, had been mentored by Kelly’s sister and hired her on the spot. With her start as the weekend morning show producer, and she went on to work at various NBC affiliates and for Fox News before joining CNN in Atlanta, Georgia.  

At CNN, Kelly held the position of executive producer, U.S. operations, where she oversaw daily news and special coverage, including several show teams. CNN’s executive management identified her as a top performer, placing her in the top 10 percent of the company, and she was nominated for a first-of-its-kind senior fellowship. 

Kelly’s career highlights include witnessing the opening of the first western news production center in the Middle East (CNN in Abu Dhabi), spending time with Buddhist monks in Hong Kong, hiking the Sydney Bridge, covering the White House and Congress while working in D.C., 9/11, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the war in Afghanistan. Kelly also was part of the team that took home three Peabody Awards for coverage of the 2008 election, the 2010 Gulf Oil spill, and coverage of the Arab Spring.

But with all of her professional accomplishments, Kelly says that the best part of her life is her family, daughters Gracie and Avery, and her partner Katherine Green. In fact, while she was on maternity leave after Gracie was born, she made the life-changing decision to leave CNN to focus on her growing family. Kelly stayed home with her two daughters for two and a half years, before returning to local news.

“Being a mom absolutely changed the earth beneath me,” Kelly says.

She continues, “It was one of those things where the landscape in cable news was also changing, and I wanted to feel more connected to the work that I was doing, as a woman, as a leader, just for the sake of my children and for the world.”

Kelly has found that connection in Tampa Bay, and she has fallen in love with this city. She is active in the community, and her family is thriving. With her daughters in mind, she also has advice to share with young girls who are dreaming of their own careers.

“I think you have to believe in yourself and immerse yourself in people that are positive,” she counsels.

Kelly explains, “Growing up, as a young girl and a teenager, it is hard. But to have that inner strength to recognize that you can always make your own choice. I wish someone had said that to me more and more and more.”

Kelly graduated with a BA in English from Kentucky Wesleyan College, where she is in the Athletic Hall of Fame for her time as a softball pitcher. She also holds a master’s degree in social media from the University of Florida, where she sits on the Advisory Council.

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