KTRV, an independent station in Boise, shut down news operations on Monday and announced plans to shrink production staff this week.
The Block Communications-owned station, formerly a Fox-affiliate, became independent earlier this fall after Fox gave its affiliation to KNIN. As recently as this summer, KTRV planned to add six staffers to its newsgathering operations, as well as expanding morning and evening newscast.
Just six months later, the station is reversing course, releasing a statement today saying the station will function under a new business model that “does not include news.”
“A network affiliate requires a different business model than does an independent station,” said Bill Lamb, vice president of Block Communications. “As a result, a reduction in staff is taking place this week.”
The station will continue to operate and said it will compete for any network affiliations that become available in the market, leaving the door open to bringing news operations back in the future.