Rick Iler out at KSHB-41

The news director of Kansas City's NBC affiliate has "resigned for personal reasons," according to KSHB-KMCI general manager Craig Allison.

Rick Iler hadn't been here too long, and we'd only had one extended interview, though we did exchange our share of emails (some of them a little testier than others, and I'm not saying it was just him).

Under his leadership, KSHB's "NBC Action News" had its best regional Emmy Awards showing in years, tying for best newscast (10 p.m.) and winning for both best weathercast (Gary Lezak) and best photographer (Katrina McCann).

Unfortunately, Iler will also be known as the guy who killed off two long-running, if not wildly successful, local TV programs, "Kansas City Live" (which got the axe in November 2007) and "38 Sports Spot" with noted NFL prognosticator Jack Harry one year later.

My guess is those were committee decisions and he just happened to be on the committee at the time both shows' fates were decided. "38 Sports Spot," as I showed later on, had lost almost all of its demographic numbers in the year prior to its cancellation. I'm not sure it's fair to hang the executioner label on him, but that's the way it is.

Iler currently sits on the board of directors of the RTNDA representing regions 4 and 5.

Eric Maze, the assistant news director, will run the newsroom while Allison looks for a replacement for Iler.