SYRACUSE -- Following the recent departure of Tommy Sladek, management at CNYCentral announce the promotion of Samantha Croston to Sports Director. The press release from CNY Central News Director Sean Carroll follows:
SYRACUSE, N.Y. --- CNY Central, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Central New York television stations
WSTM NBC3, WTVH CB5, and CW6, today announced Samantha Croston has been named sports
director. Croston, who joined the CNY Central News Team in 2021, replaces the recently departed
Tommy Sladek in this role.In Croston’s three years with CNY Central she has excelled in many areas of journalism and
content creation. As a multimedia journalist and reporter, she gained experience reporting on
community news, breaking news, and severe weather situations. As a news anchor, she has guided
viewers through developing events during live newscasts and delivered impactful news broadcasts that
highlight the depth of our news team’s investigative work. Now, in the role of sports director, Croston
will fully commit her time to continuing the rich legacy of sports coverage from the CNY Central team.“Samantha’s journalism skills are what set her apart from her peers in the sports reporting
world,” said CNY Central News Director Sean Carroll. “She will now pair those skills with her deep
understanding of sports, and perspective as a former NCAA athlete, to bring Central New Yorkers the
analysis and understanding they expect from our team.”Croston played goalie for Colgate University’s women’s lacrosse team before earning her
master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of
Public Communications. In her time with CNY Central, she has been part of the launch of award-winning
“The Orange Zone” podcast and YouTube channel, a consistent contributor to local high school sports
coverage through NBC-3’s Friday Night Lights fall sports coverage and year-round Athlete of the Week
segments. In May, Croston and weekend sports anchor Ashley Wenskoski launched the “Why Am I a
Mets Fan?” podcast and YouTube channel; the latest multi-platform initiative to connect fans of Central
New York sports teams anywhere in the world to the teams they love to follow.“I’m thrilled to continue my career in a place I’ve called home these past three years,” Croston
said. “Serving the passionate sports fans of this community and providing insight and analysis on our
local high school and college teams is an exciting opportunity. I want my legacy to be that I inspired the
next generation of women, and in this role, as CNY Central's first female sports director, I hope to take
the first step towards that. Along with my podcast co-host and Weekend Sports Anchor Ashley
Wenskoski, as well as The Orange Zone regulars James Mungro (SU Football) and Lawrence Moten (SU
Basketball), we will continue to grow our audience, and more importantly, use sports as a way to bring
people together."CNY Central is comprised of WSTM NBC3, WTVH CBS5, CW6 and CNYCentral.com and is owned or operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. a diversified media company and leading provider of local sports and news. Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets affiliated with all the major broadcast networks; owns Tennis Channel and multicast networks Comet, CHARGE!, TBD., and The Nest. Sinclair’s content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and the nation’s largest streaming aggregator of local news content, NewsON. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.
Covering the happenings at dozens of TV and radio stations in two markets is no easy task! We're always grateful for your "official" station announcements and "unofficial" insider tips. Anytime you've got news to share about local radio or TV, use our Contact Form. You can choose whether to include your own contact info, or remain anonymous.