Forrest Carr

Forrest Carr
News Director, WFLA-TV

Forrest Carr observed his 23rd year in the broadcast news business in January 2003. In March of 2001 he joined WFLA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Tampa, FL, as news director, and helped create the nation's first converged journalism ombudsman project, "Citizens' Voice." Prior to that Carr spent three and a half years as news director at KGUN9, the ABC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona. During his tenure KGUN9 made waves locally and nationally with its community-responsive journalism, launching such innovations as a Viewer Ombudsman and the nation's first Viewers' Bill of Rights. In late 2000 the Project for Excellence in Journalism awarded KGUN9 News the highest score for journalism quality it has ever given to a half-hour newscast. Carr began his career as a radio reporter but quickly switched to television, serving at various times as a copywriter, reporter, newscast producer, managing editor, and assistant news director in the Memphis, San Antonio and Tampa markets before joining KGUN9. Carr has contributed to such publications as Columbia Journalism Review, RTNDA Communicator Magazine, Electronic Media and Shoptalk, and is co-author of a college textbook on news writing and ethics published in 2000 by McGraw-Hill. Carr has won or shared credit in nearly five dozen professional awards, including a Suncoast regional Emmy for investigative reporting. He is a graduate of the University of Memphis.