Lee Rosenthal, the news director at San Francisco-area FOX affiliate KTVU (Channel 2), is Boston-bound.
Rosenthal confirmed to various news organizations on Thursday that he will move to FOX station WFXT (Channel 25) in Boston sometime in the future.
WFXT is in the process of being acquired by Cox Media Group from the FOX Television Stations Group as part of a swap for KTVU and Oakland sister-station KICU (Channel 36). The swap, which is still pending regulatory approval, was announced in June.
As part of the deal, WFXT executives were expected to leave Boston for the San Francisco-area stations and vice-versa. It is unclear when Rosenthal will depart KTVU, though MediaBistro reports the move will likely happen after the deal between Cox and FOX is finalized.
Rosenthal, who joined KTVU from Tribune Broadcasting in in April 2013, oversaw news and digital operations at the station. His tenure at KTVU was marred by claims of managerial disputes and low staff morale; he was famously thrust into the spotlight after a news anchor erroneously named four individuals believed to have piloted a plane that crashed at a San Francisco airport last summer.
The station has yet to announce Rosenthal’s replacement. The fate of WFXT’s current news director, Paul McGonagle, is unknown.
FOX has been aggressively trying to secure ownership of affiliates in markets with a National Football Conference team. The network currently has the rights to broadcast NFC games across the country. KTVU serves the market where the San Francisco 49ers football team calls home.
