Abigail McCollum
Abigail McCollum is the Director of Convergence and Social for the Home and Travel category at Scripps Lifestyle Studios. In this role, Abbi creates a bridge between the on-air programming team, the marketing team and the digital team. As the convergence lead for the brands, Abbi manages a team that creates a digital and social presence for all HGTV, DIY Network, Travel Channel, and Great American Country shows and talent. She works closely with the interactive ad sales and marketing teams to monetize the digital on-air content as well as to establish social sponsorship guidelines and campaigns.
Annie Carr
Annie Carr is a News Producer at Knoxville’s NBC affiliate, WBIR. Annie moved into her current position in January of 2016, previously working as an Associate Producer/Editor in the WBIR newsroom. She has been a political intern with CBSNews and served as Lead Producer on the Medal of Honor Project. Annie graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2016, with a major in Journalism & Electronic Media. During her time at UT, Annie was very involved in CCI’s student-led media productions including UT Today and ESPN U Campus Connection.
Bryce Caldwell
Bryce Caldwell is the General Manager at Raycom Media Knoxville (WTNZ FOX 43, Knoxville Weekend, Bounce TV Knoxville, Grit TV, PureCars Knoxville) in Knoxville, TN, focused on positioning the station for long term success in today’s rapidly evolving local marketplace of viewers, consumers, and advertisers. In addition to WTNZ-TV FOX 43 in Knoxville, he’s previously worked with NBC, ABC, WB, UPN, and CW affiliates in the Knoxville, Nashville and Orlando television markets with some of the largest media companies in broadcasting. Prior to taking over at FOX 43, his career was based around creating dynamic and sustainable partnerships between broadcast television stations and the largest advertisers in the local marketplace. His experience working with small, medium and regional sized companies in a variety of markets and economic climates gives Bryce a unique perspective on how to make advertising investments drive overall profitability. Bryce’s educational background is focused in Marketing and Business Management with a BSBA in Marketing at the University of Tennessee & his MBA at the University of Florida.
Charli Kerns
Charli Kerns comes to UT from a previous life as the online editor for an action sports magazine, Canoe & Kayak and its affiliated website GrindTV.com. There, she acted as a Jill-Of-All-Trades, reporting, filming and editing multimedia content for the website. She also developed and oversaw all social media strategies for the magazine. Charli Kerns is now a Communication and Information doctoral student in the primary area of Journalism & Electronic Media. Her research focus is communicating environmental issues and natural resource management to rural communities. Specifically, she is interested in understanding how news media’s stereotyping of rural communities influences the way they frame scientific issues of interest to those communities (mountain top removal, water conservation, forest land management, and climate change).
Gavin Baker
Gavin Baker, Principal and owner of Baker Labs, teaches, coaches and consults on social media, digital marketing, and inbound marketing. Baker Labs is an inbound and digital marketing agency that creates marketing engines for business owners who want up-to-date systems to consistently grow their revenue using online marketing. Baker Labs is a HubSpot Partner Agency and certified MailChimp Expert.
Jack McElroy
Jack McElroy grew up in Tucson where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Arizona. After a stint at a small newspaper in Douglas, Arizona, he joined the E.W. Scripps Co. at The Albuquerque Tribune and eventually served as managing editor there. He later moved to the Rocky Mountain News in Denver and was managing editor there when the Columbine High School shootings occurred. The newspaper was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for its photo coverage of the event. McElroy was named editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel in November 2001.
Jessica Galliart
With a focus on Scripps’ Home and Travel brands, Jessica creates and manages social and digital content for TV shows seen on HGTV, Travel Channel and DIY Network. As Managing Editor, she oversees new content related to TV shows for each brand’s website and social channels; produces social videos with production companies, talent and internal creative agencies; manages workflows across the Convergence team; and develops new strategies for organic social promotion of TV shows and on-air network initiatives. Galliart is an alumna of Columbia College Chicago (2009) with a BA in magazine journalism. She has previously worked in digital and social media roles at Playboy, the Chicago Tribune’s daily tabloid RedEye and a social news video startup based out of Chicago. She lives in Knoxville with her dog and is slowly getting better at not killing her houseplants.
Karli Sanders
As Corporate Marketing Manager of Scripps Networks Interactive, Karli Sanders is responsible for a broad range of external communications projects, with emphasis on managing the lifestyle media leader’s overall social media strategy, corporate website and executive speaking opportunities. In this role, she is challenged to create a cohesive communications plan that balances the marketing needs of public relations, ad sales, affiliate sales, programming and branding, event marketing, human resources and corporate giving. Sanders graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee’s College of Communication and Information with a BS in advertising and a minor in business administration.
Liz Gray
Liz is a special projects managing editor for HGTV.com and is the co-editor-in-chief of the I Heart HGTV blog. She lives in a midcentury tri-level that she’s (slowly) remodeling alongside her husband and her mystery-breed puppy. Other interests include: Mad scientist-style recipe experiments, impractical hats and anything Danish modern.
Marianne Canada
Marianne Canada is a producer and stylist at HGTV.com and an online personality. When not sawing chairs in half or buying cartons of glitter, she’s starring in videos for HGTV’s crafty YouTube channel, HGTV Handmade. She is also the on-staff “maker” and can be frequently found crafting at her desk.
This crafty lady’s career before HGTV.com was enviably diverse. Marianne was an actress in Eastern Europe, created blockbuster events for Red Bull Energy Drink and was a dog wrangler for a show about over-the-top dog houses, all before finding a place at Scripps Networks as a location and talent coordinator. Using her eye for design and current trends, she found locations and cast talent in more than 200 commercial spots, airing across all Scripps Networks. Marianne is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and theater.
Xu Zhang
Xu Zhang is a third-year Communication and Information doctoral student with a Journalism & Electronic Media concentration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research primarily focuses on the freedom of press, media and terrorism, international news coverage in both traditional as well as social media contexts.