KMGH Channel 7 General Manager Byron Grandy Abruptly Resigns

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:



Longtime KMGH boss Byron Grandy, who rose from news director to become vice president and general manager of the station, abruptly resigned his post and left the company, Scripps confirmed Monday.

Grandy joined KMGH, then owned by McGraw-Hill Broadcasting, as news director in December 2000. He was named station manager in July 2008. It was Grandy who created and nurtured a newsroom culture that resulted in cases of trophies in recent years, including the George Foster Peabody Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Columbia-DuPont Award and numerous regional Emmys.

Steve Wasserman, vice president and general manager of WPTV West Palm Beach (an NBC affiliate owned and operated by The E.W. Scripps Company) and divisional general manager for Scripps, is serving as interim general manager. Wasserman declined to comment on the reasons for or manner of Grandy’s departure but supplied a note to the staff:

I want to inform you that Byron Grandy has resigned as general manager of KMGH effective immediately and has left the company. Byron has made significant contributions to the station during his years here as news director and GM and the station is stronger as a result. Scripps wishes him well as he moves to the next stage of his career.

An extensive search for his successor will begin immediately. In the interim, I will be serving as acting general manager. I look forward to meeting with as many of you as possible in the coming weeks and to thank you for the excellent work you have been doing and, no doubt, will be doing in the future.

Steve Wasserman
VP/ Divisional General Manager
Scripps Television

Some newsroom staffers said they were taken by surprise. Competitors noted the company’s dissatisfaction with lagging ratings may have played a role in Grandy’s departure.

In August, the station’s news director Jeff Harris announced his departure to take the same post at WEWS, the Scripps station in Cleveland, his hometown. His last day was Friday.

The direction and leadership of the newsroom remains uncertain. Carl Bilek, executive producer of newsgathering, is currently the senior newsroom manager.


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