Posted at 6:05 p.m., Thursday, January 12, 2006
KHON-2's new owner to lay off one-third of station's staff
Advertiser Staff
The new owner of KHON-2, the local FOX affiliate with the top rated news programming in Hawai'i, said today it will lay off 35 of its 112 employees.Blackstone Group of New York and SJL Broadcast Group of California are in the process of buying KHON from Emmis Communications Corp. Emmis also owns KGMB-9, the CBS affiliate, which is up for sale.
KHON's news broadcast with anchor Joe Moore has for years dominated the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. time slot.
Rick Blangiardi, KHON's general manager, said he will leave the station when the sale to the new owners is completed, which is expected to happen at the end of this month.
In a memo to officials at Indianapolis-based Emmis, Blangiardi said he could not remain because "I do not share the same vision, and approach, to the television businesses as SJL. These differences make it impossible for me to serve you and SJL effectively."
