Talented Chief Photog Matt Mrozinski bids farewell after his postion was eliminated at KING 5. Looks like it actually happened in late February even before the Nexstar takeover. He apparently declined staying on at a lesser photo position. Writing was on the wall. Another blogger called it collateral damage. Here is his message about the departure:
"My position as Director of Photojournalism at KING 5 was eliminated.
I’m not posting this for sympathy — truly. Think of it more as a press release. I stay humble, but I know there are many people who have supported me here, followed my career, trusted me to help shape theirs, and poured their hearts into the work alongside me.
If your first question is how I’m doing — I’m good. I had hoped for a better farewell, of course. These moments always bring mixed emotions and reflection, as anyone who’s experienced them knows. Ultimately, deep down I've known it was time for countless reasons, but I chose to hang on.
I’ll share more memories and thank yous down the road. For now, I’m going to enjoy my dream job: being a dad — a priority that ultimately helped land me in this situation. But, there’s never been anything more important to me. I accept the job.
Be well, gang! 🙂"
Also hearing of layoffs at Nexstar's News Nation. Stay tuned.
Matt almost exclusively focused on awards and long-form storytelling; he tended to view covering daily news as beneath him, which rubbed many of us the wrong way.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that, but not surprised. But that fact may have solidified the decision by management. Plus they knew he wouldn't take a lesser role. Some KING people have always had a level of arrogance about them which I lived thru first hand at NWCN.
DeleteThat kind of egocentric behavior and arrogance was well known that even though KING and NWCN operated out of the same building, some folks there treated it as though they were different and depending on whom you were talking to. A KING employee would tell me say they work at the "crown" jewel, but thought of NWCN as a basement/cookie cutter operation.
DeleteAll true. The big anchors, except for SIlvi, who was paid more to appear on Northwest Sports Tonight on cable, made sure they would not appear on cable. I think Jean Enersen did once, for a big story that demanded cross promotion. Those names include, Renner, Marriott, Bounds, Jean and Lori. Reporters would not even record package tags. Luckily, I was able to get help from Robert Mak on election nights, but people like Ray Lane, disliked cable and thought it beneath them. Glenn Farley only wanted something from cable when he needed the Washington Bureau when I was running it from 3,000 miles away, believe it or not. It was always a struggle, always.
DeleteI'm surprised that many of the otherwise fine people at KING were so opposed to appearing on NWCN. They could have built larger, regionwide followings for themselves if they had been more willing. Few other local markets offered that unique oppertunity.
DeleteAs for Matt, while it is dissapointing to hear that he thought he was above covering daily news, his departure from KING is still a big loss for station as his work has played a big role in earning KING the many awards they've won over the years. I wish him the best of luck in finding a new job.
I want to add that Jim Forman and Linda Brill were on board with assisting NWCN.
DeleteI'm glad to hear that. Jim and Linda were solid reporters, and this shows that they believed in what NWCN was doing. CNN had long proven the value and importance of cable news by then. It shouldn't have been beneath anyone at KING to help NWCN.
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