KRON4-TV: From Bad To Worse; Weekend News Next To Go

THINGS ARE GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE AT ONCE-PROMINENT KRON-TV, (KRON4) as the venerable SF Independent station has told weekend anchors, including news writers, production, and reporters that their shows are being terminated and will be re-assigned to weekday operations. Some less-tenured employees will simply be laid off, and the ones that stay will see a cut in their paychecks.

Last month, Young Broadcasting, KRON4's parent company filed bankruptcy. The company maintained that the station's on-air personnel would not be affected.

Just late last month, Sports anchor, Vernon Glenn, a 19-year fixture at KRON was taken off his Sat-Sun. duties and was moved to a five-day-a-week, reporter/VJ, (video 'journalist) status. Glenn's been working without a contract since October, 2008.

The station's more visible and popular air talent are said to be in professional dire straits. Weekday Sports anchor, Gary Radnich, one of the highest paid talents in the Bay Area, has a reported "high, six-figure" contract that expires at the end of the year. His TV future in the SF market is a source of industry intrigue. Same for high-profile news anchorwoman, Pam Moore, whose contract status was not immediately available. Radnich also hosts a mid-morning sports talk-show at KNBR, (680 AM)

KRON has been going with the business model of VJ work, as a means to cut costs, as advertising revenue has dipped considerably in the SF market, not unlike the rest of the country. In fact, media sources have told me that the one-man, do-it-all VJ model, in which reporters both write, edit, and photograph their stories is being strongly considered at other stations in the market.

Those stations include KPIX, (CBS5), and KNTV, (NBC11) Other stations, KGO, (ABC7) and KTVU, (FOX2) have not considered the VJ model, but if current market conditions don't improve, station execs will explore the idea. The under-reporting SF market, the nation's 4TH biggest, has modeled the VJ program as a means of cutting costs without pairing back their department's news-gathering abilities.

Developing Story
03-'05-'09 3: 47 PM PST