Media of Birmingham has learned in this exclusive report that NBC 13 eliminated 11 positions across various departments this week, including senior reporter Scott Mauldin (top left) and reporter Havonnah Johnson (bottom left). Vice president and general manager Gene Kirkconnell cited the economy as the reason behind the latest round of cuts.
Monday, Media General, which owns NBC 13, cut 130 positions total nationwide, after suspending 401(k) matching contributions and mandating two-week furloughs.
NBC 13 laid off 10 people in January, while ABC 33/40 laid off 15 people and Fox 6 laid off 10 in February.
Kirkconnell would not say how many employees NBC 13 has, and referred questions about further cuts from Media General to the company’s representatives. Media General has not responded to e-mail requests.
He said that NBC 13’s employees were doing a good job working with limited resources and that the station’s March ratings were looking good. NBC’s local news programs in the morning and at 5 and 6 p.m. showed increases in household ratings over the same time in 2008.
Update: Birmingham Business Journal story profiles Mauldin’s new company, Vulcan Media Team.
6 responses so far ↓
Jeff Vreeland // March 31, 2009 at 9:48 am |
Does Media General own any other stations in Alabama?
Ike Pigott // March 31, 2009 at 9:54 am |
Jeff, Media General also owns WKRG in Mobile, which had a handful of those cuts yesterday as well.
Jeff Vreeland // March 31, 2009 at 9:55 am |
Thanks Ike. I have friends at stations all over the state so was just curious what other stations they owned.
Media of Birmingham // March 31, 2009 at 10:08 am |
Here’s a list of Media General TV stations:
http://www.mediageneral.com/properties/television.htm
Newspapers:
http://www.mediageneral.com/properties/newspapers.htm
Freelancers unite for Vulcan Media Team « Media of Birmingham // May 14, 2009 at 12:53 pm |
[...] May 14, 2009 · No Comments What is Vulcan Media Team? A group of freelancers working in public relations, marketing and video production, founded by Scott Mauldin, who was laid off in March from NBC 13 (EXCLUSIVE: NBC 13 cuts another 11 positions). [...]
Media General pulls plug on Skirt Birmingham « Media of Birmingham // July 2, 2009 at 3:05 pm |
[...] closest competitor, Lipstick, folded in February. Its landlord and partner, Media General, cut jobs at NBC 13 in March. During that same round, Media General folded Skirt in Tampa. (It continues as an [...]