415 Media Exclusive: Nextstar Lowers The Boom On Two Veteran KRON Employees; Debra Chamber; Director of Finance For Almost 30 Years Gets Boot Plus Mailroom Clerk Who is Special Needs Individual

Today represents one of a future of depressing times at KRON-- its new bogeyman owner, Nexstar, showing its corporate kill with the dismissal of two, very different long-term employees whose last day is today, 415 Media has learned exclusively.

The first to get the heave-ho is the very high ranking and highly-compensated Debra Chambers.  Chambers is not a household name but she has been the one controlling the money for years at KRON as the Director of Finance and Administration.  She's been with the station for 27 years.  She was the one who crunched the numbers to see what a program needed to succeed and where to cut if needed. She was the power player.  She was also the HR lead and led union negotiations.  

The second is a sad reflection of the owners.  Scott Thorson is the mailroom clerk.  He's been with the station for over 20 years delivering the mail and getting supplies. The thing about Scott is that he is a special needs individual.  It has been said by Scott's parents that working at KRON changed him dramatically. Others stated it really altered his life. In a good way.  Having a daily job gave him a purpose and motivation. Says a friend: "Scott was the epitome of dependable-- always showing up right on time and wearing his KRON jacket proudly."

No more. 

On the face of it, these two employee casualties will not directly affect the daily goings-on at the perennial albatross KRON, but the ousters represent the course of future action by Nextstar which has already sent shivers up the spine of those folks mistakenly believing "all is OK." Nope.

These are not the last personnel moves --only the beginning.

*415 Media Exclusive

415 Media Exclu: KRON/Nextstar Frequency Worth a Billion; TV Spectrum Auction

 We know about KRON and its murky future based on the TV Spectrum Auction.

I heard something astounding the other day from a broadcast industry official that blew me away.

The person, who asked that I don't use his/her name told me that the KRON frequency is worth a Billion dollars!

That's yuge.

Wait a minute; maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

Back to our story--the person went further. Could NBC reverse course and buy KRON to fortify its presence in the Bay Area and right a wrong that killed its Bay Area broadcast position?

Wait a minute, what then happens to KNTV? There's a million questions.

I'm still thinking about that BILLION --and considering KRON's new, complex corporate ownership, there's a lot to consider.

A former KRONvict told me all this news has hit the newsroom like a lead balloon --which might explain why the bottom dwellers at 900 Front are nervous as all hell.

*415 MEDIA EXCLU



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