Another One Out the Door in St. Louis
KMOV in St. Louis has a number of on air job openings.
And now the station can add one more to the list.
Julian Johnson, a reporter/sometimes anchor at KMOV, is leaving the station and headed to WGCL in Atlanta according to KMOV GM Mike Murphy.
Last week, 40-year veteran Robin Smith, 16-year vet Craig Cheatham and rising reporter Brittany Noble-Jones all announced they were leaving the station. Anchor Sharon Reed got the departure ball rolling in May, when she left KMOV to become a main anchor at the CBS affiliate in Atlanta.
Murphy said departures are "part of the business," noting that Smith is retiring; Cheatham is moving into management as an assistant news director in Minneapolis; and Noble-Jones is taking an anchor position in Jackson, Miss.
"These are opportunities" for those leaving, Murphy said. "They're all leaving with blessings."
Murphy noted that Johnson is going to join Reed in Atlanta, where former KMOV general manager Mark Pimentel is now in charge.
"Mark was close to his newsroom people," Murphy said, also noting that Atlanta is a bigger market than St. Louis.
Murphy, like Danielski, said the moves were not part of any budget cutbacks. In fact, Murphy said, KMOV will add a 4 p.m. newscast in September.
"It'll be a full newscast" of news, sports and weather, he said. "We'll probably just go with one (as yet undetermined) anchor on that."
Also in September, the morning news with Andre Hepkinsand Emily Rau will start at 4 a.m. instead of 4:30, Murphy said.