The veteran news reporter and anchor left KHON in August to serve as chief spokesman for the state's largest telecommunications company. He served as Hawaiian Telcom's vice president of corporate communications which included oversight of the firm's media relations and organizational communications.

A spokeswoman for the company said Mizutani resigned yesterday "for personal reasons."

Mizutani could not be immediately reached for comment.

Asked whether the position would be filled, spokeswoman Ann Nishida said that has not been determined since Mizutani resigned last night. "No one has been named to take his place," she said.

The former KHON journalist first joined the TV station in 1985 and had served as co-anchor of the top-rated evening newscast from 1996 to 2000.

He earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and is a 1983 graduate of Kamehameha Schools.

Last week, the company laid off 50 to 60 managers or about 10 percent of the the management team as part of continuing cost-cutting and restructuring.