Owner cuts jobs at KHON, KGMB
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Indianapolis-based media firm Emmis Communications Corp. will eliminate 120 positions at its 15 TV stations nationwide, including 10 positions at the two stations it owns in Honolulu, KHON and KGMB.
The cuts, announced yesterday, will affect five full-time positions at KHON, three of which are vacant. Two people at the station, a weekend assignment editor and a morning news producer, will be laid off.
At KGMB, which Emmis acquired last year and continues to own under a temporary regulatory waiver, five positions affecting two people are being eliminated. One, a programming coordinator, is being laid off. Another, longtime reporter Jerry Drelling, who at one time served as anchorman for the station's 5 p.m. news, did not have his contract renewed by the station.
The overwhelming number of cuts are at 13 Mainland stations, many of which Emmis bought from Davenport, Iowa-based Lee Enterprises Inc. in a $559.5 million deal completed in October.
Emmis, which is offering severance packages, said the cuts are strategic resource reallocations resulting from the management change.
"Facing an uncertain economy, we will focus our resources in sales and marketing, while stressing maximum productivity in all areas of our operations," Randy Bongarten, president of Emmis Television, said in a statement. "The moves today come after much deliberation, and while personally painful for all of us, are necessary for Emmis to be ready for a dynamic marketplace."
Bill Spellman, KHON vice president and general manager, said some of the positions eliminated were actually added in the last six months. "For the last year, we're really up," he said. KHON employs 100 people.
KGMB has just under 100 employees. "It was one of those very difficult business decisions," said Lynne Mueller, station general manager. "In the context of an industry in a pretty tough situation ... it was one that had to be made. We wish both our employees well."
The job cuts in Honolulu do not reflect any consolidation between the two stations. Emmis is looking forward to operational efficiencies if the Federal Communications Commission allows it to keep KGMB.
FCC rules bar one company from owning two stations in the same market when both rank among the top four in audience marketshare. That prevents Emmis from owning both KHON, the Fox affiliate, and KGMB, the CBS affiliate.
Emmis obtained a six-month regulatory waiver from the FCC to buy KGMB, which was one of 15 stations purchased from Lee. The waiver expires April 1. Emmis has asked for a six-month extension, but has not heard back from the FCC, said spokeswoman Kate Healey.
The company's options include seeking a permanent exemption or selling one of the two Honolulu stations.
Andrew Gomes can be reached by phone at 525-8065, or by e-mail at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.
