UPDATE: Gerald Johnson, executive director for innovation and partnerships for the Moody College of Communication, will serve as KUT’s new interim general manager, selected by the University, the station announced at a Tuesday zoom meeting with staff. Johnson previously served as director of Texas Student Media, The Daily Texan’s parent organization, from 2014 to 2023. He also spent 16 years working at the Houston Chronicle.

Debbie Hiott is no longer the general manager of KUT and KUTX, Anita Vangelisti, interim dean of the Moody College of Communication, wrote in an email to KUT staff Monday. According to a KUT article about the dismissal, Vangelisti offered Hiott the opportunity to resign in a meeting, which Hiott declined; she was then immediately fired. 

According to the email, an interim general manager will be named as soon as Tuesday and will contact staff to inform them of the change.

KUT is Austin’s NPR station, but it is licensed to operate through the University and is housed in the Moody College of Communication. According to KUT, the general manager is overseen by the dean of the Moody College of Communication, and KUT reporters are University employees. The station states they maintain editorial independence and control over their reporting.

According to the article, Hiott said that she was told the reasons for her firing were related to planning issues with the KUT festival in May. The University required major changes to the festival, citing safety concerns to move it off campus days before the event, according to previous reporting by KUT.

“I want to thank Debbie for the service she has provided in this role since 2019,” Vangelisti wrote in the email. “She has been a dedicated proponent of providing news, content and music to the Central Texas community and beyond.”

KUT and the Moody College of Communication officials declined to comment. Hiott was not immediately available for comment.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article misstated the relationship between KUT reporters and UT. KUT reporters are university employees, but report independently from University influence. The Texan regrets this error.