KCBS-TV General Manager Resigns; Former KABC-TV Official Hired

Frank Gardner, general manager of KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, resigned Monday amid sagging ratings since the station recently switched to a new, untraditional format for its news programs, a network official said.

Gardner, who became general manager and vice president of the local CBS owned and operated affiliate in March, 1985, will be replaced by Tom Van Amburg, former general manager at the rival ABC-owned KABC-TV, who left the station in 1985 for independent production.

An employee in the newsroom at KCBS-TV Channel 2, who asked not to be identified, confirmed the development late Monday, saying that a memo had been circulated that said, in part, “ . . . from now on your paychecks will be signed by Tom Van Amburg.”

Neal Pilson, New York-based executive vice president of the CBS Broadcast Group, announced Gardner’s resignation and Van Amburg’s hiring, effective Oct. 13, in a statement released here Monday after he met with Channel 2 officials.

“I believe that under Tom (Van Amburg’s) able management, this station will take the necessary steps to return to its traditional leadership position,” Pilson’s statement read.

Earlier in the day, Pilson told Los Angeles CBS affiliate KNX Radio that a change was needed because the ratings had dropped since KCBS-TV began presenting its 2 1/2-hour evening newscast three weeks ago.

“I felt we had given it an opportunity,” Pilson said. “I felt if we continued with the current format, we might not have the ability to recover the rating we had lost over the past few weeks . . . The new general manager will evaluate the format.”

The CBS network official who approved the new format, CBS Television Stations President Neil Derrough, also resigned Monday. It was the latest in a series of changes at CBS headquarters that included the resignations last month of CBS Chief Executive Thomas H. Wyman and CBS News President Van Gordon Sauter. Laurence A. Tisch is acting chief executive and CBS founder William Paley is the acting chairman.

The new KCBS-TV format features brief news capsules as well as 20-minute segments devoted to such subjects as health and family concerns and interviews with personalities.

The broadcast leads up to the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather at 6:30 p.m.

“Channel 2 embarked on a bold course, made dramatic format changes as we know,” Pilson said. “I had some concerns about it, some concerns about the performance of the station . . . “There are elements in the format I was comfortable with, and there were a number of elements that gave us some concern,” he said. “The kind of change we’re making tonight speaks for itself.”

Pilson said no other management changes were planned.

Gardner came to Channel 2 from WCBS in New York, where he was general manager.

In a statement, read by a KCBS-TV spokeswoman, Gardner said:

“I leave KCBS-TV with great fondness and respect for its people, and pride in the quality of its broadcasts. CBS has always been a wonderful place to work, and I’m fortunate to be a part of it.”

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