Rocky Mountain PBS is restructuring its newsroom, according to the Denver Post.
The Denver station has eliminated eight positions and created four, according to the Post, mainly to “boost investigative reporting strength.” Layoffs represent “the bulk of the production department,” according to the paper.
In February RMPBS hired John Ferrugia, who had worked as an investigative reporter at KMGH-TV, the local ABC affiliate, since 1989. Previously Ferrugia had been a national and White House correspondent for West 57th, a CBS News weekly magazine that aired from 1985–89.
The decision was announced at a staff meeting last week. Staffers whose production jobs were cut were invited to apply for the new positions.
“This is not an economic decision,” RMPBS CEO Doug Price told the newspaper. “It’s a mission-driven decision.”
The station restructured its executive ranks in mid-2014.