When we first heard about Pierce’s KPCC layoff, it was as much of a surprise to us as his 2011 exit from the LA Times. FishbowlLA contacted Pierce and he was kind enough to give us the following statement:

Yes, it’s true. I was relieved of my duties at KPCC recently. It was quite a shock as I thought I was providing an important and useful service to the Take Two show during the week and to the KPCC website on Saturdays.

But in the ultimate “it’s not you, it’s me” reasoning, I was told it was due to a budget shortfall, and not the quality of my work, that I was being shown the door.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Also announced to staff last night by interim managing editor, digital Eric Zassenhaus is the addition on May 14 of Rina Palta as KPCC.org’s crime blogger. She comes to the station from KALW News 91.7 FM in San Francisco:

Rina has been the lead reporter for KALW’s Informant blog, where she’s been covering criminal justice issues in California since starting there in 2009. Rina was one of the first reporters to focus on the 2008 Secure Communities program that automatically shares the fingerprints of anyone booked in county jails with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When major newspapers finally realized what was happening, they were playing catch-up with her diligent work.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.