Bloodbath at Fox' KRIV-TV in Houston

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It used to be that stations waited until after sweeps to fire people. These days, it doesn't seem to matter. The executioner sharpened the axe at KRIV this afternoon.

Dorsey                           Roth

Dorsey                           Roth

Assistant ND Howard Dorsey and Managing Editor Geoff Roth, were escorted from the building after a manager's meeting. Oddly, Dorsey had just been renewed with a 3-year contract last fall.

Morford

Morford

You may recall last October, FTVLive reported that a Fox O&O ND had sent a memo to his GM, saying the station could save money by eliminating the assistant ND and managing editor positions. That station, was KRIV-TV and the ND is Bob Morford. After that FTVLive report, Fox went on a witch hunt to find the leak.

Apparently, that memo must have made sense to someone. Since the Deuce and ME were both whacked.  

"This leaves only two managers left on the management team, including news director Bob Morford who the newsroom has no respect for," said one staffer to FTVLive. 

Another insider tells us, "He's (Morford) only there because he will do whatever the GM says, including allowing him into editorial meetings." The GM is, D'artagnan Bebel.

But wait, there's more. In November, the assignment manager was fired. Last month, AM EP Andrew Gillfillan broke contract, and headed to NBC O&O KNTV in San Fransisco. Just last week, reporter Ashley Johnson left to head to Fox' Chasing News in New York and PM EP, Brandice Bailey gave notice that she's leaving at the end of the book to head to CBS O&O KPIX. The station is already short several producers and on-air talent.

Bebel

Bebel

So one has to wonder, what is Morford going to do? It seems odd that a Top 10 newsroom is going to be able to perform effectively with no managers and a editorially-lean staff. And where's the GM? Anyone who's been in the business a hot second, knows the GM has to sign off on any changes like this.

Stay tuned. We're pretty certain there's more shoes to drop at KRIV. Either that, or the GM, Chief Engineer and GSM, may be pulling double duty in the newsroom.