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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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9 employees laid off at KGMB-TV
Nine people have been laid off at KGMB-TV in various departments, but no on-air talent is affected.
"Just because we report on the economy doesn't mean we're immune from economic downturns," said Rick Blangiardi, president and general manager. "It is with deep regret that we have had to respond to the current economic climate" this way, he added.
The station is owned by HITV Operating Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Virginia-based MCG Capital Corp.
The cuts affected just under 9 percent of station staff in the sales, news, technical and programming departments.
"None of these outstanding people deserve to be out of work. They all had very real jobs and they were doing them very well, which is why this is so difficult," he said.
In the local TV industry much attention has been paid to the resources put in to KGMB's morning news show, but Blangiardi dismisses the talk.
"We have been working all year to do more with less," he said. "The net effect is that we now do 27 hours of news per week, versus nine-and-a-half at the time the station was sold, and we're doing that with three less people than the day the deal closed.
"We're putting on a very strong product due to the tremendous dedication and commitment of the men and women who work here, not because we have unwieldy staff numbers."
It is also a difficult time in other local TV markets.
Up to 15 people have been laid off from KUTV in Salt Lake City, a larger market than Honolulu. In smaller Flagstaff, Ariz., the only station producing a local newscast will air its final show this week, leaving 20 people out of work.
Traditional media outlets are dependent on advertising revenue, and in an economic downturn with businesses facing higher costs and slower sales, ad budgets are often among the first cut.
The auto industry alone spent $414 million less on advertising in the first quarter, according to a TNS Media Intelligence study, reported in industry newsletter TV Business Confidential. It also cited a projection by research firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. that for the year, auto advertising could drop by $3 billion, to about $15 billion.
Declining ad spending has caused media outlets to swing the unemployment ax nationwide.
The Honolulu Advertiser also cited the economy in its layoffs of some 54 people last week. The paper is in contract talks with six unions that have authorized a strike.
In announcing the cuts via e-mail last month, Advertiser President and Publisher Lee Webber noted that 4,500 newspaper jobs had been slashed since the start of the year. More have since been cut.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com