Sandy Breland

Notable work and positions

Gray Media (Gray Television) - Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Raycom Media - former Group Vice President
WWL-TV New Orleans; KTVK Phoenix - former executive news director
WVUE-TV New Orleans; WAFB-WBXH Baton Rouge - former general manager

Biography

Sandy Breland is executive vice president and chief operating officer of Gray Media, one of the largest owners of local television stations in the United States. A journalist by training with a bachelor's degree from Loyola University New Orleans, she began her career in local television news, rising to executive news director at WWL-TV in New Orleans and KTVK in Phoenix before moving into station leadership as general manager of WVUE-TV New Orleans and WAFB/WBXH in Baton Rouge. She joined Gray in 2019 when the company acquired Raycom Media, where she had served as Group Vice President; at Gray she was promoted to senior managing vice president and then, in 2023, to EVP and COO, overseeing a broad portfolio of local television stations, Gray's Washington, D.C. bureau, its national investigative team and its research and consulting division. Breland's work covering Hurricane Katrina at WWL-TV earned her a Peabody Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award, and she has also received the RTNDF's First Amendment Award, the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award for public service, and the 2025 RTDNA John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award. She serves on the board of the Carole Kneeland Project for Responsible Journalism.

Career highlights

• Hurricane Katrina coverage WWL-TV, 2005 · Peabody Award and Edward R. Murrow Award for planning and execution of storm coverage.
• Chief Operating Officer, Gray Media 2023-present · Oversees local television station operations, the Washington bureau and national investigative team.
• RTDNA John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award 2025 · Recognized for contributions to journalism, integrity and local news leadership.