TELEVISION - Jan. 6, 1993

KNBC News: KNBC-TV Channel 4 is bringing in Mark Hoffman, news director at the CBS-owned station in Chicago, to jack up the station’s sliding news ratings. Hoffman, who will become vice president, news, on March 1, replaces Nancy Valenta, who resigned as news director following the station’s poor showing in last November’s sweeps ratings. KNBC once dominated local news ratings but has fallen farther behind KABC-TV Channel 7 in the last year. Hoffman, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, has lifted the ratings of TV stations in Chicago and Atlanta as news director there. With his appointment, once again there are no female news bosses at any local TV station.