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Gannett to pull the plug on KNAZ Flagstaff August 15

N

noknaz

The President GM of KPNX/KNAZ, HR director and the GM today informed the staff at KNAZ TV2 Flagstaff today that they are closing down the operation August 15th. Sales people have been instructed to end all contracts 8/15. There will be not televised local news for Flagstaff and Northern Arizona.

They are keeping some sort of Northern Arizona Bureua with a BPJ and engineer.

KNAZ has been for sale for the past few years.

There are many good people who are now looking for jobs...
 
I wonder if they're going to silence the transmitters or just do a straight simulcast of KPNX. Actually, I'm surprised they haven't tried to silence just the analog yet, the antenna is burning itself up...

- Trip
 
Announced on 12News tonight: KNAZ will simulcast KPNX starting 8/16.
 
Must have taken lessons from Clear Channel: Buy a property, pay too much for it, ruin it, then try and sell it and fail. Flagstaff is the loser.
 
When Gannett bought the station ten years ago, it was in receivership. Gannett didn't ruin the station; they just postponed the inevitable.

A while ago, I wondered why Flagstaff and northern Arizona wasn't its own market. I think I know why now. Northern Arizona can't support its own stations, let alone its own market. KNAZ was a network affiliate; now its a full-power translator, KTFL folded, KCSG is in bad shape, with no advertising revenue, KFPH is Spanish and produces no local content, KMOH, another former NBC affiliate, is now a full-power jukebox, and KAZT would have gone under if Jack Londen didn't buy the station as an anniversary gift for his wife, spend a truckload of money upgrading its facilities, and change the station's focus from Prescott to Phoenix.
 
While handing out credit to Jack Londen for his renewal and revitalization of KAZT, let's give the late, wonderful Ron Bergamo some credit for his leadership there; and Michael Hagerty for his work there now. But the point is taken -- unless KUSK changes to KAZT and refocuses in Phoenix, Ron and Michael's work would mean a little less.

As for KNAZ: a slow death, true...but some good broadcasters did some very VERY good things there. They should know that what they did in that newsroom actually mattered.
 
jvparent said:
While handing out credit to Jack Londen for his renewal and revitalization of KAZT, let's give the late, wonderful Ron Bergamo some credit for his leadership there; and Michael Hagerty for his work there now. But the point is taken -- unless KUSK changes to KAZT and refocuses in Phoenix, Ron and Michael's work would mean a little less.
Click to expand...

Correct. In no way did I mean to minimize the work of anyone at AZ-TV, but there would have been no work had Londen not opened the purse strings and made a commitment to the station, and conversely, had there not been solid leadership at KAZT, Londen's money would have been good money after bad.
 
dhett said:
jvparent said:
While handing out credit to Jack Londen for his renewal and revitalization of KAZT, let's give the late, wonderful Ron Bergamo some credit for his leadership there; and Michael Hagerty for his work there now. But the point is taken -- unless KUSK changes to KAZT and refocuses in Phoenix, Ron and Michael's work would mean a little less.
Click to expand...

Correct. In no way did I mean to minimize the work of anyone at AZ-TV, but there would have been no work had Londen not opened the purse strings and made a commitment to the station, and conversely, had there not been solid leadership at KAZT, Londen's money would have been good money after bad.
Click to expand...

JVParent: Thanks for the kind words. Dhett's right, though...none of it would have happened without Jack Londen's support. Ron and I (and now Jeff Burnton and I) along with the 25 other people who work here just try to make sure that the money is used the best way possible.

NoKnaz: BPJ is an acronym for "Backpack Journalist"...a one-person photog/reporter combo.

---Michael Hagerty
 
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