Arkansas Business reports that Rick Iler, news director at Nexstar Broadcasting's KARK in Little Rock, announced Thursday he was resigning effective July 22. Iler was news director at KSN in the late 1990s.
He said his resignation had nothing to do with the firing three weeks ago of the station's general manager Perry Chester. Iler had been at the station since August 2001.
News Blues reports Iler left after Nexstar decided not to promote him to replace Chester and indicated he is heading for a new job in Phoenix.
Media blog Arkansas TV News in a rather pointed commentary noted the problems KARK will have in replacing Iler, problems that precisely explain what faces Nexstar's KSNF and sister station KODE in Joplin, as well as its stations in Springfield:
"Nexstar will have a tough time filling Iler’s shoes. It is made harder with the fact they have to tell their candidates 'come to KARK were we have no General Manager, no Associated Press, we don’t subscribe to Nielsen, and by the way we will be off cable at the end of the year.' WOW, where do I sign? Knowing Nexstar like we all do they will drag their feet in hiring Iler's replacement so they can pocket his salary and at the last minute they will hire an inexperienced EP or ND and pay them $40,000. Good luck to the KARK Newsroom.'
The good news at the local station is that they do have a general manager.
4 comments:
Iler used to be the news director at KSNF in Joplin.. if I remember correctly, people were glad to see him go from there as well.
Thank you for the information. I knew that name sounded familiar, but I just couldn't place it.
I have added a few words to the post to show that Iler was at KSN in the late 1990s. I am not sure exactly when he left, but I have been able to confirm that he was there in 1999.
Iler was a good guy... worked hard for KSNF.
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