Don Porter Quits King; Station Hires Cnn Anchor

KING-TV has lost its most visible broadcast journalist in the turbulent 11 months since new management took the helm of the station's news department.

Don Porter, an anchor at Channel 5 for almost six years, resigned yesterday. March 29 will be his last appearance on the station's 11 p.m. newscast.

Porter said he had considered the move for the past few months, and that his immediate plans were to spend more time with his family and ``decompress.''

``It was my choice. My decision,'' he said yesterday.

More than one of Porter's colleagues, though, believed that pressure from above helped force his departure.

``He didn't resign; he was pushed out the door, in my opinion,'' said sportscaster Tony Ventrella, who works alongside Porter on the late-evening newscast.

``In TV today you're not told directly you're not the guy . . . You're told you can be a producer for Jean Enersen if you like.''

News director Bob Jordan came to KING last April. He pledged to refurbish Channel 5's newscasts, which in several key time periods had slipped in the ratings. Replacing Porter, he insisted yesterday, was not part of the plan.

``There's nothing about Don or his performance that was incompatible with the direction we're going,'' Jordan said. ``We'll miss him.''

Colleagues of Porter's contacted for this story lamented his leaving. Some used it as evidence of the changing face of local TV news.

``We seem to think through our research,'' said Ventrella, ``that the audience wants to see Mister Clone.''

Porter was anything but. The son of a congressman from Oregon, Porter broke the cookie-cutter anchor mold when he arrived here from Washington, D.C., where he covered the Pentagon for NBC News.

In Seattle, Porter's bosses told him to trim his bushy eyebrows. They urged him to lighten up his serious style.

Other aspects of the job - the writing and reporting - seemed to come naturally to Porter. Co-workers praised him for his talents in both areas.

Last January, Enersen joined Porter at the anchor desk to co-host the late news. After Jordan arrived, the station commissioned new research to measure the popularity of its anchors. In October, Porter's long-time producer left Channel 5.

Under his new producer Porter found himself writing less.

``I think he felt frustrated because he had less input into the show,'' said Lori Matsukawa, a weekend anchor who regularly co-hosts with Porter on the Friday late news. ``I think he felt underappreciated.''

Since Jordan took control of the news department, more than a dozen employees - reporters, editors and producers - have left. Rumors of changes among the high-profile anchors quieted when King Broadcasting was put up for sale in August.

The Providence Journal Co. announced March 2 that it would buy King's television properties. Soon after, Channel 5 hired Dennis Bounds to co-anchor its morning and noon newscasts.

Porter's replacement, also announced yesterday, is said to have been on the KING payroll for months.

Barry Judge, a Cable News Network freelance anchor from Florida, will co-anchor both the 11 and 5 p.m. KING newscasts as of April 8. Sources close to the decision say Judge auditioned at Channel 5 last year and was hired on retainer several months ago.

Jordan would not discuss the chronology of Judge's hiring. Jordan called Judge, with his almost 30 years of broadcast news experience, ``a perfect match with Jean'' Enersen.

Mike James will move from the 5 p.m. news to co-anchor ``KING 5 News at 6:30.''

And Porter, instead of working the TV news swing shift from early afternoon to late evening, will be able to spend more leisurely dinners with his wife and two elementary school-aged children. ``I've had a lot of fun,'' he said. ``But I want to see what else is out there.''