Channel 39 Newsroom Unsettled by Firings

In the wake of the firing of KCST-TV (Channel 39) news director Ron Miller earlier this month, the station eliminated the jobs of two newsroom veterans last week, heightening the feeling of unsettlement that has plagued the news staff for the past year.

Associate producers Mark Heaslet and Barbara Schwartz, both longtime Channel 39 staffers, were told Thursday that their positions had been “dissolved.”

Since Gillett Communications took over the station in December, the general manager, sales manager and promotions director have been replaced, and now the focus is clearly on the newsroom.

“There is obviously some sort of systematic dismantling going on, which is not necessarily bad,” said one reporter, who asked not to be identified. “The question is how much is going to be dismantled and altered.”

Many of Channel 39’s on-air personalities have been operating in a state of limbo, without contracts, for almost a year.

“As soon as (a contract came up for renewal last year), we were told that they were not renewing contracts and that’s the way it is,” the reporter said.

For example, sports director Al Keck saw his contract run out May 31, and he is now exploring other job offers.

“It’s a weird situation,” Keck said, adding that he isn’t sure whether he will remain at the station.

Keck has been rumored to be heading for a station in Tampa, Fla., but he declined to comment on any offers.

General Manager Neil Derrough said the decision to not renew contracts was made before he joined the station.

“People should know whether or not they are going to be players,” he said. “We are in the process of taking care of that.”

Although news director Miller was considered by some in the newsroom to be less than a dynamic leader, he certainly left his mark on the station. During his 20-month tenure, Miller hired Channel 8 castoff Marty Levin and the queen of the polka dot dresses, Denise Yamada, as anchors.

He brought in business reporter Bill Ritter and bolstered the station’s life style focus by adding Susan Farrell’s “Call for Action” segments and Harvey Shapiro’s very serious-looking medical segments.

Under Miller’s leadership, the news shows became much more feature- and family-oriented, without approaching the furry-animal hysteria of Channel 10.

Despite the station’s poor ratings, the news shows were always competent and professional. Yet few people in the newsroom were surprised when Miller was fired, least of all Miller, a well-traveled veteran of TV news.

“No, I wasn’t shocked,” he said. His two-year contract, due to expire at the end of August, required a 90-day termination notice.

“I believe (the firing) has happened other places within the chain,” Miller said. “I also believe it is the prerogative of the general manager to bring in the people and team he needs to accomplish his goals.”

Ironically, Miller knew the station was for sale when he took the job 20 months ago. Like many others, though, he thought Channel 39 was going to be sold to Lorimar’s TV operation. Miller said he had been told by people at Lorimar that his job would be safe after the sale.

But that deal fell through, and Storer Communications sold the station to Gillett.

Derrough, who leaves this week for an NBC affiliates meeting, said he does not expect to name a replacement for Miller until the end of the month. He confirmed that Bob Schaefer, news director at KOVR-TV in Sacramento, has “expressed an interest” in the job.

Like Derrough, who spent 25 years overseeing network affiliates for CBS, Schaefer is an alumnus of CBS News.

Notes and Quotes: When a pregnant Julie Duffield, in the midst of pre-labor pains, called up KKLQ-FM’s “Murphy and McKeever” morning show to request the Marine Corps march song, the deejays obliged and, what the heck, they put her on the air to talk and “help pop that puppy out.”

Duffield was still in her Chula Vista home that afternoon when KKLQ (106.5-FM) deejay JoJo Kincaid randomly selected her name from “thousands of cards” to win $1,000 worth of credit on a credit card. A few minutes later, she was back on the air accepting her prize. At 6:42 the next morning, she gave birth to her first child, Christopher James.

“It’s been a real exciting 24 hours,” she said.

XTRA-AM has hired Michael Packer, former general manager of radio station KTRH-AM in Houston, as a consultant. The hiring of Packer, who is regarded as a specialist in news-talk formats, represents the next step in the likely conversion of the station from an oldies to a news-talk format.

Eyewitness Views: An insight into the Channel 10 news approach: On election night, the station led with the Sockers’ championship . . . Channel 39 teased a story about the safety problems of the Suzuki Samurai, followed by a commercial for the Samurai . . . Baseball fans can blame Channel 10 for double vision Monday nights. The station elects to delay the ABC “Game of the Week” an hour because it doesn’t want to disrupt its regular programming, according to Channel 10 promotions coordinator Frances Seymour. Channel 7 out of Los Angeles shows the game in the regular nationwide time slot, which means baseball fans can watch the beginning of the game on Channel 10 and switch to Channel 7 to see if it’s worth watching the rest of it.