Mark Effron has been named vice president and news director of WPIX, Tribune’s CW affiliate in New York City.

Effron is the former vice president of news and daytime programming at MSNBC. He has also worked for the Post-Newsweek stations, holding leadership roles at WFSB in Hartford and WDIV in Detroit. Most recently, he was the general manager and executive producer of “The Takeaway,” a show produced by WNYC Radio and Public Radio International.

“Mark’s expertise, leadership skills and successful record of news expansion and ratings growth make him the perfect fit to lead and revitalize our newsroom in New York,” president of Tribune Broadcasting Larry Wert said in a statement.

Effron begins at WPIX on April 17. He replaces Bill Carey, who stepped down in October.

“I’ve been watching Channel 11 ever since I was a kid growing up on Loring Place in the Bronx; I started with cartoons and then became enamored with the news and I can’t wait to help create the next generation of great PIX11 newscasts: news by and for people who love this place, even as we affirm our right to complain about the noise, the crowds and the prices,” Effron said in a statement.

WTAE investigative reporter Jim Parsons has been promoted to assistant news director at the Pittsburgh ABC affiliate.

“We believe that in his new role as assistant news director, Jim will continue to build on our legacy of high quality reporting and investigations that Pittsburgh viewers expect from WTAE Channel 4 Action News,” WTAE general manager Michael J. Hayes said in a statement announcing the promotion.

Parsons, who joined WTAE in 1998, said he was “honored and humbled” by the opportunity. His appointment as assistant news director is effective immediately, and WTAE has announced a search for a new investigative reporter.

Lisa Lovell-Ayres has been named news director of Nexstar Broadcasting’s WPTY and WLMT in Memphis and WJKT in Jackson, Tenn, effective immediately.

Lovell-Ayres has been acting news director of the stations since December. Nexstar acquired the three stations from Newport Television last year.

“With her depth of expertise in news production and programming and deep knowledge of the local Mid-South communities, we are confident in her ability to provide effective leadership to build upon the achievements of our Memphis / Jackson news operations,” Ardyth Diercks, VP-GM of the three stations, said in a statement.

Before becoming acting news director, Lovell-Ayres served as the stations’ executive news producer for eight years.

Kathy Hostetter has been named news director at WTHR, Dispatch Broadcast Group’s NBC affiliate in Indianapolis.

Hostetter, who was an executive producer at WTHR from 1998-2002, will begin in her new role on May 6. Since April 2010, she has been news director at WAVE in Louisville. She has also worked as news director at WISE in Fort Wayne, Ind. and WAVY in Portsmouth, Va.

“Kathy is a remarkable and highly-regarded news leader with years of experience in major markets. As a former Executive News Producer here at WTHR, her local experience is a tremendous asset,” WTHR GM John Cardenas said in a statement. “I am excited that she will be joining us.”

Hostetter replaces Keith Connors, who left WTHR when his contract expired last year.

Dustin Wadsworth is joining Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC as assistant news director, according to the station’s Director’s Cut blog.

Wadsworth comes to Cleveland from WMAR, the ABC affiliate in Baltimore. Wadsworth has worked at WMAR for 12 years in a variety of roles, including executive news producer and most recently director of new media.

“We were determined to find a leader in digital news, someone who can help guide our overall editorial direction while making our social media, mobile and online channels top priorities, ” news director Brennan Donnellan said in a statement.

Alec Gifford, a former news director at both WVUE and WDSU in New Orleans, died last week. He was 85.

Gifford joined WDSU, the New Orleans NBC affiliate, in 1955 after serving in the U.S. Navy. In 1966, he joined NBC News in New York, where he worked for one year before returning to New Orleans as news director, anchor and reporter at Fox affiliate WVUE. He returned to WDSU in 1980 and continued there until he retired in 2006.

“If today we enjoy a measure of respect and have earned the trust of our viewers, it is in large part due to the extraordinary work Alec Gifford did to establish WDSU as a news organization,” WDSU president and general manager Joel Vilmenay said in a statement. “We continue to honor Alec’s work every day in our effort to report stories with the same sense of dedication, integrity, talent and passion as Alec did.”

Larry Wert officially began his job as the president of local broadcasting for Tribune’s 23 stations this week. Wert tells Time Out Chicago’s Robert Feder that the vacant news director position at WPIX, Tribune’s CW affiliate in New York City, is at the top of his to-do list:

Filling the news director job and making a few other adjustments in the largest of the 23 markets Wert oversees is a top priority, he told me Monday, his first official day on the job.

[...] Coming off a 15-year run as president and general manager of NBC 5 — and a decade before that as a top radio station executive in Chicago — Wert, 56, knows he has taken on the biggest challenge of his career. “There’s so much to absorb and so many issues to catch up with, the task is almost overwhelming, but at the same time very exciting,” he said. “In meeting with many of the employees who’ve worked so hard and lived through years of uncertainty, you can feel their enthusiasm for what’s ahead.”

Mike Lopez is the new news director at WEAU in Eau Claire, Wisc., the station confirmed to TVSpy.

Lopez joins the NBC affiliate from WVEC in Norfolk, where he was the assistant news director for seven years. He has also worked as an executive producer at WAVY in Norfolk and WISH in Indianapolis and as a producer at KRON in San Franscisco.

Lopez, who started earlier this month, replaces Eric Shepard.

Craig Hume is joining KSNV, the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, as news director. Hume joins the station from Harrisburg, Pa., where he has been the news director at WHP-WLYH since 2009.

“The power of News 3 is built on a reputation for excellence in journalism and deep roots in the community. I look forward to helping expand News 3′s high-quality local news coverage in new time periods,” Hume said in a statement.

Hume replaces Bob Stoldal, who will be “spending more time on his corporate responsibilities” as executive vice president of news, according to Rick Gevers & Associates. Intermoutain West Communications, KSNV’s parent company, is expanding local news programming in both Las Vegas and at KRNV in Reno, and Stoldal will oversee the expansion.

“Craig brings with him experience in developing local news operations as well as a good knowledge of Las Vegas,” Stoldal said in a statement.

KYMA, the NBC affiliate for Yuma, AZ, has named Ernesto Romero news director.

“My former news director Luis Cruz mentored me to be the person I am today,” said Romero who was promoted from managing editor. “With the many things I’ve learned from him and other great leaders that have come through our doors, I am confident I’ll be able to take our team to the next level.”

Romero has worked at KYMA since 2009. He succeeds Luis Cruz who left KYMA earlier this month to work for U-T TV, the web and cable network for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

[Media Moves]