KMJ morning news anchor Matt Otstot has departed the station for a new role with a California state legislator.
Otstot is departing the Cumulus-owned news/talk station to serve as the district coordinator for Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno).
He has spent nearly 9 years working at KMJ, saying “it has been an amazing ride” in a post to X announcing the move.
He previously worked in TV news at stations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Fresno before joining KMJ in 2015. He told GVWire.com that the state of local news made him consider a position outside of media.
“News departments in both radio and television are shrinking, and the demand for local news has not shrunk at all. So, as you have fewer and fewer individuals that are there to gather news, to disseminate news, to cover events, a lot of things fall through the cracks …It’s just kind of heartbreaking to see,” Otstot said.
Otstot is joining the Assemblyman’s office at a curious time. Patterson will reach his term limit at the end of 2024. However, Otstot said the opportunity “was just a deal too good to pass up”.
