Kyle Malzhan has been named the new sports director at WFRV-TV, replacing Burke Griffin, who was in the position since 2012.
Malzhan was a 19-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay when he was hired as a part-time production assistant at the station in 2017, tasked with moving studio cameras and delivering scripts. The Fond du Lac native eventually joined the sports team, working his way up from producer to reporter to anchor.
“While people look at Northeast Wisconsin as a stepping stone, this is home for me and my wife, and I’m very excited to continue my run at this station and to continue this journey at the only station I’ve ever been at,” he told evening anchors Tom Zalaski and Staci Engebretson during the July 22 newscast.
He will lead WFRV’s coverage of the Green Bay Packers and becomes only the third sports director at the Green Bay CBS affiliate since the late 1980s, according to WFRV. Griffin had been in the role for 14 years, taking over when Larry McCarren left the station in 2012 after 24 years.
The WFRV announcement story does not address Griffin’s departure.
After being off the air for nine months due to foot surgery and a health issue that arose after it, Griffin had returned to the air at WFRV in mid-May and said he was looking forward to getting back in the swing. His return, however, was short-lived. He was no longer on the air or listed on the station’s website when the station advertised the sports director opening during the first part of June.
Griffin, a Racine native and a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh graduate, had been at WFRV since 1995 and covered the Packers for 31 years.
During Malzhan’s introduction as the new sports director, he shared a photo from his first day at WFRV in 2017. He was so excited to be working at the station he revealed he made up a story about needing a photo for a class project just so he could get a photo with Zalaski and former longtime co-anchor Erin Davisson. He said it was like meeting northeast Wisconsin’s version of The Beatles.
Malzhan’s promotion is the latest change in the WFRV sports department this month. Reporter Cameron Ezeir left the station July 9 to join WDJT-TV (CBS 58) in Milwaukee.
Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: WFRV names Kyle Malzhan new sports director, succeeding Burke Griffin
Reporting by Kendra Meinert, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kendra Meinert, Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
