Randy Klein named news director at KCEN

Randy Klein, a longtime television news executive who most recently served as story desk manager and digital director at KHOU in Houston, Texas, has been named news director at Tegna-owned NBC affiliate KCEN in the Waco, Texas, market.

Klein will begin his new position Nov. 9, 2026, succeeding Jim Hice, who led the KCEN newsroom for more than a decade after becoming news director in 2014, according to Chron.com.

The appointment brings Klein back into a newsroom leadership position at Tegna, where he has held several editorial and digital management roles during a broadcasting career spanning more than 30 years.

“KCEN has a deep connection to the Central Texas community, and I’m looking forward to being part of that,” Klein said in a statement. “Leading a newsroom can be challenging, but my goal is always the same: create meaningful journalism, grow engaged audiences and make our station the place audiences turn to first.”

Before joining KHOU, Klein worked at Tegna’s WTSP in Tampa, Florida, serving as regional director of digital content and digital managing editor.

He previously held a digital management position at ABC-owned KTRK in Houston and worked as a senior producer for Cox Media Group in Orlando, Florida. His background also includes serving as a promotions producer for Fox Sports in Houston.

A graduate of the University of Houston, Klein has received an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award for social media work and four Texas Association of Broadcasters Best Major Market Website honors. He has also received an Anson Jones Award recognizing online and multimedia journalism.

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