KCAL Will Start Layoffs in Sale’s Wake

Young Broadcasting Inc. today will start laying off 55 employees of KCAL-TV Channel 9 as it takes over ownership of the station from the Walt Disney Co. But no immediate changes are planned in format or on-air personnel.

Deborah A. McDermott, executive vice president of operations for the company, told a news conference Wednesday that the downsizing from 298 staffers to 243 would take place station-wide but would not noticeably affect KCAL’s news operation. The scaling down will take at least two weeks, she said.

McDermott said there will be no salary reductions among remaining staffers, as had been rumored.

The Young Broadcasting station group, which owns 12 stations across the country, including affiliates of ABC, CBS and NBC, will formally take over KCAL at midnight Friday.

More than half of the remaining employees will be based in KCAL’s news department, which will continue to broadcast a three-hour block in prime time. McDermott said the department is larger than the one at KCBS-TV Channel 2 and comparable to those at KNBC-TV Channel 4 and KABC-TV Channel 7.

She added that the station would continue to broadcast sports events featuring the Kings, Clippers, Lakers, Mighty Ducks and Angels.

The station hopes to have a new general manager in place by January, said McDermott, who is managing the station at present. The previous general manager, David Woodcock, resigned last week.

KCAL will have an “expanded commitment of news, sports and community-based programming” under the new management, McDermott said. Among the possibilities that will be explored is adding a newscast at 7 p.m. or 9 a.m.

Also being explored is the possibility of the station sponsoring town hall meetings on important issues and the development of multi-generational and cultural public-affairs programming.