{"id":32366,"date":"2024-07-10T11:10:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T17:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/?page_id=32366"},"modified":"2024-07-10T11:10:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T17:10:01","slug":"linda-spalla","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/linda-spalla\/","title":{"rendered":"Linda Spalla"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> Linda Spalla often refers to her life as a Cinderella story. Yes, she started with nothing and made it to the top of her field, but she didn\u2019t have a fairy godmother to get her there. She became the New York Broadcast Group\u2019s first female television station manager because of her inner strength, perseverance and determination, and that\u2019s why she deserves this induction into the Alabama Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

Once upon a time Spalling was divorced, jobless and homeless, but she could type.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to have a job and I was a good typist,\u201d says Spalla. \u201cChannel 19 needed a sales secretary. I aced the typing test, got the job and that\u2019s where it all started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cMy boss saw that there was more potential there than just being a typist and he offered me a job in sales. I turned it down because it was straight commission, and I was scared. But about a year later he called me into his office and offered me the job again. He said if I turned it down, he\u2019d never offer it to me again. I took it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spalla did well in sales which led to more promotions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was offered the local sales manager\u2019s job and then I was director of marketing,\u201d says Spalla. \u201cThen the station was bought by the New York Times company, and they believed keenly in diversity. I\u2019m quite sure that I got my job as the general manager because I was female, but I did not keep<\/em> it because I was female.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told them there\u2019s a lot I don\u2019t know and later on one of my bosses said, \u2018you know, Linda, you were right!\u2019\u201d, she laughs. \u201cThere were so many days where I doubted that I could do it, but I kept telling myself I could. And I hired people who were smarter than I was. That\u2019s the secret.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cBeing the first female general manager \u2013 that in itself was a big deal. Not just because she was female, but because she was really good at her job,\u201d says Stan Pylant, current general manager of WHNT-TV. \u201cShe was a mover and a shaker because she really got involved in the community. She knew all the players and all the politicians. She knew how to get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe embodies everything about local television community. She was a leader in the station, and she was one that was willing to walk the walk. Whatever she asked other people to do, she would do it herself.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery once in a while, maybe just once, you have the right place the right time, the right people, and you get to make magic together,\u201d says Spalla.  \u201cAnd that\u2019s what we did with that particular staff. It was just fabulous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spalla offers common sense advice based on her 25 year career in station management.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever give up,\u201d she says. \u201cSay your prayers. Believe in yourself. Help other people. Give them a chance. Be kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since retiring, Spalla has stayed busy. She\u2019s an in-demand public speaker and she\u2019s written several books.  Her first book, Leading Ladies, <\/em>was published in 2003, offering practical leadership tips for women, encouraging them to embrace their femininity as a leadership asset.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

She also met her Prince Charming. \u201cI met this wonderful guy who is a Parisian. I met him through a mutual friend,\u201d smiles Spalla. \u201cOne thing led to two and one night we\u2019re sitting in a nice restaurant, and he leaned in and said, \u2018I want to take you to Paris.\u2019 And for the last 20 years we\u2019ve been going every summer! Imagine that? It was like fate saved Paris for me until I was ready to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, Channel 19 is a piece of my life and one of the best pieces,\u201d says Spalla. \u201cBut I will say that the best years of my life have been retirement, because I met my guy and fell in love with Paris!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This Cinderella may not have had a fairy Godmother, but it seems that in the end, she managed to create her own \u201chappily ever after\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linda Spalla often refers to her life as a Cinderella story. Yes, she started with nothing and made it to the top of her field, but she didn\u2019t have a fairy godmother to get her there. She became the New York Broadcast Group\u2019s first female television station manager because of her inner strength, perseverance and … Continue reading Linda Spalla<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-32366","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/32366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32366"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/32366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32382,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/32366\/revisions\/32382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}