Joel Cheatwood
Joel Cheatwood | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 1, 1958 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Employer | Merit Street (Phil McGraw/TBN) |
| Known for | Tabloid journalism |
| Television |
|
| Spouse |
Neva Cheatwood (m. 1983) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Website | cheatwoodmedia |
Joel Cheatwood (born c. September 1, 1958) is an American television executive and founding chief operating officer for Merit Street Media, a joint venture between Phil McGraw and the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He is best known as the news director for WSVN in Miami, Florida, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1991 to 1997, implementing a highly successful, visually-based tabloid journalism format that has since been emulated and imitated at television stations across the country.
Cheatwood also headed news operations for WMAQ-TV in Chicago when that station briefly employed Jerry Springer as a commentator, and at CNN Headline News and Fox News, oversaw the development of two highly-rated but controversial talk shows, both hosted by Glenn Beck. After Beck's 2011 departure from Fox News, Cheatwood was the founding chief content officer for his streaming media platform, TheBlaze.