Nexstar battling Little Rock sports rumors

Nexstar Broadcasting, owner of KSNF, is denying a rumor in heavy circulation in Little Rock that it is eliminating its local sports department at its affiliate KARK.
"There's a rumor going around that we're closing down our sports department and that's not true," Jeff Whatley, assistant news director, told Arkansas Business. "For competitive reasons, we can't go into it, but we are enhancing our sports and restructuring it as a way to enhance, not take away from us."
The rumors come in the wake of the departure of station general manager Perry Chester last week. As the Arkansas Business article noted, KARK, like KSNF in Joplin and KSFX in Springfield, have stopped paying for Nielsen ratings and Associated Press.