KCAL, KCBS News Staffs Will Merge

Viacom Inc, which owns two local TV stations, will merge the news operations of KCAL-TV Channel 9 and KCBS-TV Channel 2 by September, executives said Monday.

The combined news staff will be managed by News Director Nancy Bauer Gonzales, who has been in charge of KCAL’s news operation and will produce the newscasts for both stations, said Don Corsini, general manager of the two stations.

No immediate changes in anchor lineups at either station are planned, Corsini said, but the melding of staffs could lead to job cuts in the newsroom if there is overlap.

The merged news operation will be headquartered either at KCBS’ Hollywood studio on Sunset Boulevard, or at KCAL, which is adjacent to Paramount Studios on Melrose Avenue, Corsini said.

Princell Hair, who was named news director at KCBS in December, will return to his previous position as director of news operations for Viacom Television Stations Group.

Gonzales became KCAL news director in October after a 13-year stint at KNBC-TV Channel 4, where she had served as assistant news director, executive producer and news director. Her appointment is effective immediately; she will report to Corsini.

The merging of the two operations is the latest development in duopoly, which is steadily growing in Los Angeles, the nation’s No. 2 TV market.

Under the duopoly concept, a company can own two stations in the same city. Federal regulations prohibiting this concentration of media ownership were relaxed in 1999.

The KCAL-KCBS duopoly, which won approval from federal regulators in May, is one of four locally. News Corp. owns KTTV-TV Channel 11 and KCOP-TV Channel 13. NBC recently completed its purchase of Spanish-language network Telemundo, which means the network now owns KNBC, KWHY-TV Channel 22 and KVEA-TV Channel 52 (though KWHY will have to be sold because of restrictions limiting ownership to two stations per city). Spanish-language rival Univision also controls two stations: flagship KMEX-TV Channel 34 and KFTR-TV Channel 46.

The era of joint ownership already has prompted previously unheard-of practices. KCAL last month started promoting KCBS’ newscasts and news anchors. And KCOP last week moved its 10 p.m. newscast to 11 p.m. so it wouldn’t compete with KTTV’s 10 p.m. news show. In the latter case, management for the two stations said those two news operations would remain separate.

Viacom also owns both local all-news radio stations, KFWB-AM (980) and KNX-AM (1070), but they too remain separate operations.