The University of Texas at Austin fired a veteran journalist and general manager overseeing the Texas capital’s NPR affiliate station, KUT, this week, following contentious disagreements over major changes made to the inaugural KUT Festival held in early May, per reports by KUT.
General Manager Debbie Hiott had served in her position at KUT since 2019, following nearly 30 years of journalism work at the Austin American-Statesman. On Monday, June 15, KUT reported Hiott had been fired from her role with the station, with UT naming Gerald Johnson as interim general manager on Tuesday, June 16. Johnson had been working as the executive director for innovation and partnerships at UT’s Moody College of Communication at the time of his appointment.
UT Austin has held the broadcasting license for KUT for decades, with the affiliate station operating out of the university’s campus. As a result of KUT being a unit within UT Austin, staff declined to comment in an email to MySA, saying they’re unable to speak on personnel matters.
This managerial shakeup follows public disagreements between UT leadership and Hiott over safety and security concerns about the KUT Festival, which the station had originally planned to hold on campus. In late April, mere days before the festival’s kickoff, KUT reported that Hiott received “questions” from UT staff regarding the event.
Then, two days before its debut, UT officials announced KUT had been asked to relocate the festival, with the university attributing that need to “insufficient planning for safety measures, including security, health, fire, and emergency services,” per late April reporting from KUT. Hiott strongly disputed UT’s assessment, writing: “The university ordered KUT to cancel the outdoor portions of the events citing a safety analysis that they have yet to provide us.”
Per KUT, Hiott had not heard from UT leadership regarding the issue until this week, when university leaders allegedly presented her with both a resignation and a termination letter.
“I said, you know, well, you’ll have to fire me,” Hiott told KUT, adding she told a university official that “UT is going to have to be known for firing me in the media.”
MySA reached out to both UT and Hiott for comments regarding her termination. We will update this story if we receive a response.