Michael J. Hayes has been named senior vice president and group head of Hearst Television.

Hayes comes from WTAE, Hearst’s ABC affiliate in Pittsburgh, where he has been president and general manager since 2011. Before that, he spent eight years as general manager of WYFF, Hearst’s NBC affiliate in Greenville, S.C.

“In every step of his career with Hearst Television he’s been a high performer, and we are delighted that he’ll be joining our talented management team in New York to work with our stations and help us compete at an even higher level in the years ahead,” Hearst Television CEO David J. Barrett said in a statement.

Hayes’ promotion is effective June 1. His replacement at WTAE will be named at a later date.

Jackie Schafer is joining Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE as a reporter and weekend morning anchor.

“Jackie has the experience and skill to accurately cover news for Pittsburgh and the region.” WTAE president and general manager Michael J. Hayes said in a statement. “We are pleased to have her officially join the WTAE family.”

Schafer worked as a reporter and anchor at WTOV in Steubenville, Ohio from 2006-10. Most recently, she was the media content director for 424 Media in Hoboken, N.J. She begins anchoring the weekend morning newscasts April 20.

Matt Belanger is joining Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE as a weekend anchor later this month.

Belanger, who begins April 24, will anchor the weekend evening newscasts alongside Shannon Perrine, meteorologist Ray Petelin and sports anchor Guy Junker.

“Matt is dedicated and very hard working and he will be a great fit for our team,” WTAE news director Justin Antoniotti said in a statement. “He understands what needs to be done to meet the high standards on WTAE Channel 4 Action News.”

Belanger comes to WTAE from WGAL in Lancaster, Pa., where he was a government and investigative reporter.

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.

A.J. Ross is joining Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC on April 15, according to the station’s Director’s Cut blog.

Ross will be a multimedia journalist at WKYC. She comes from Pittsburgh, where she was most recently a freelance reporter for ABC affiliate WTAE and the New Pittsburgh Courier.

Ross has also worked at WSYX in Columbus as a reporter for the evening newscasts and at WMBF in Myrtle Beach, S.C. as a reporter and anchor.

WTAE, Hearst’s ABC affiliate in Pittsburgh, has settled a defamation lawsuit with a woman who accused the station of wrongly showing her photo during a report on a kidnapping case, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Kathy Bass claims the station used her photograph during a report on her daughter, kidnapping suspect Kathy Ann Bass. Kidnapping charges against the younger Bass were later dropped, according to the Post-Gazette; she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to between one and two years in prison.

The lawsuit claimed defamation and invasion of privacy. WTAE filed a motion to dismiss the case in December. Terms of the settlement were not public.

WTAE is seeking to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against the Pittsburgh ABC affiliate that was transferred to federal court last week. Kathy Bass is suing the station over an August 2010 report, claiming WTAE used her photograph while reporting on a woman named Kathy Ann Bass who was accused of kidnapping.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has details on the station’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit:

Attorneys for Hearst wrote that the one-year statute of limitations on defamation claims expired. The delay, Hearst’s lawyers wrote in a brief, may stem from “misgivings about pursuing a claim alleging misidentification as an arrestee when she in fact has an arrest history of her own, the offending mug shot of plaintiff was provided to the press by authorities, and the arrestee alleged to be mistaken for plaintiff is … plaintiff’s daughter.”

A lawyer for Bass confirmed that his client was the mother of the accused kidnapper, but said it had no bearing over the case, according to the Post-Gazette.

A defamation lawsuit against Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE was transferred into federal court last week, according to the Herald-Standard.

The station is being sued over the use of a photograph. Kathy Bass, 49, claims WTAE used a picture of her while reporting on a 21-year-old woman named Kathy Ann Bass who was arrested for kidnapping in 2010.

Bass claims she received several phone calls asking about her role in the kidnapping after the report was broadcast, the Herald-Standard reports. The suit claims defamation and invasion of privacy.

Kelly Brennan will join Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate WTAE as a reporter.

Brennan, who is the sister of WPXI reporter Courtney Brennan, will begin reporting for the station Monday.

Kelly Brennan comes from WOWK in Charleston, WV.

Viewers may remember her sister Courtney for a near miss with Jerry Sandusky’s wife’s car while reporting on the Sandusky molestation trial.  Click here to see the video.

[Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette]

Justin Antoniotti will take over as news director of WTAE, Hearst Television’s ABC affiliate in Pittsburgh, beginning today.

It is a move within Hearst for Antoniotti, who comes from WYFF in Greenville, S.C. He has been news director there since 2007. Before that, he was the assistant news director at WISN in Milwaukee, another Hearst station.

“I have been very fortunate to have already worked at two great Hearst Television properties,”Antoniotti said in a statement.  “To now be able to move to WTAE is very special.  I look forward to working with the talented Channel 4 Action News Team and building on the great legacy at WTAE.” Read more