Things are back to normal in Pittsburgh after the G-20 world leaders have cleared out, though not so much at WPXI. Corrie Harding is out as news director at the Cox station, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; GM Ray Carter says the decision was mutual.
“There are just times in business as there are in professional sports that you need to make a change for the good of the team or company,” Carter said. “In this case, both Corrie and I have agreed to make a change.”
Newsroom #2 Melissa Knollinger left the station two weeks ago, says the paper. Carter, a former news director, will run the PXI newsroom until the spots are filled.
Carter says Harding’s departure was not related to the station’s G-20 coverage.
“The numbers were fabulous,” he told the Post-Gazette. “The news department operated at the highest level for G-20. We are very pleased with our performance for that. It’s more of a cumulative situation.”
CBS O&O KDKA is the dominant station in DMA #23, with WPXI and Hearst’s WTAE jockeying for second.
Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.
