Corey Hutchins' Inside the News in Colorado reports this week of the sudden departure of three top newsroom managers at KMGH, also known as Denver7. This comes on top of Nexstar's attempt to buy Tegna, which would entail the merger of newsrooms at KDVR (Fox31) and KUSA (9News), as well as Sinclair's attempt to buy Scripps, the parent company of KMGH.
Hutchins summarizes what happened at KMGH this week:
News Director Megan McRae, Assistant News Director Olivia Dickinson, and Digital Director Landon Haaf are all gone.
Poof, just like that.
No public announcement, no teary on-air goodbyes. And it sure sounds like there wasn’t any cake in the break room at the E.W. Scripps-owned building on Delgany Street in Five Points.
Denver7 General Manager Brian Joyce confirmed the abrupt hat-trick vanishing act in an email. He declined to offer any details about the circumstances of what he called a personnel matter.
Hutchins goes on to report that these moves don't appear to be part of staff reductions, as the station has subsequently advertised those roles for hiring.
{the following paragraph is my attempt to add context in this post}
McRae had been hired a few years earlier from 9News. Both Denver7 and 9News feature investigative reporting and accountability journalism, though 9News has had a longer track record in those fields. There's considerable fear that a Nexstar-Tegna merger would decimate the 9News staff and put an end to its legacy of breaking stories and holding public officials accountable through its reporting.
Hutchins' report: MYSTERY at Denver7: Sudden exit of 3 top newsroom leaders leaves tongues wagging
Hutchins summarizes what happened at KMGH this week:
News Director Megan McRae, Assistant News Director Olivia Dickinson, and Digital Director Landon Haaf are all gone.
Poof, just like that.
No public announcement, no teary on-air goodbyes. And it sure sounds like there wasn’t any cake in the break room at the E.W. Scripps-owned building on Delgany Street in Five Points.
Denver7 General Manager Brian Joyce confirmed the abrupt hat-trick vanishing act in an email. He declined to offer any details about the circumstances of what he called a personnel matter.
Hutchins goes on to report that these moves don't appear to be part of staff reductions, as the station has subsequently advertised those roles for hiring.
{the following paragraph is my attempt to add context in this post}
McRae had been hired a few years earlier from 9News. Both Denver7 and 9News feature investigative reporting and accountability journalism, though 9News has had a longer track record in those fields. There's considerable fear that a Nexstar-Tegna merger would decimate the 9News staff and put an end to its legacy of breaking stories and holding public officials accountable through its reporting.
Hutchins' report: MYSTERY at Denver7: Sudden exit of 3 top newsroom leaders leaves tongues wagging
