When a lot of people leave a local TV station in a short time span, red flags go up and media types like St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Joe Holleman start asking questions.
Friday marked the departure of Katie Felts, who is the fifth on-air talent to leave St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK since March. Holleman lists news director Mike Shipley, Julie Tristan, Elizabeth Matthews, Chester Lampkin and Sara Dayley as those who have left.
The question is, what’s contributing to the turnover?
Danielski said the moves are “the normal attrition that occurs from time to time” in the television industry. He added that there are “no budgets cuts” forcing a work-force reduction.
“We’re in the process of hiring” new people, Danielski said, noting the addition of three new producers and reporter P.J. Randhawa, who came on board in May.
Randhawa, a DePaul University graduate, comes from WIS (Channel 10) in Columbia, South Carolina. Before that, she worked in South Dakota.
For what it’s worth, Danielski took over as gm in March after former gm Lynn Beall moved to Gannett’s headquarters in McLean, Va.