The University of Texas fired KUT Public Media General Manager Debbie Hiott on Monday.

Multiple reports state that Hiott’s firing was in response to a public disagreement between Public News/Talk 90.5 KUT-FM and AAA 98.9 KUTX Austin and the university over planning for the first KUT Festival that was held in May. Hiott told KUT that she was told directly that she was given the option to resign or be fired over “planning problems with the KUT festival and security issues”.

One week before the festival was to be held on May 1 and 2, the university provided a list of concerns about security, health, fire, and emergency services. The stations stated that was the first time they were made aware of concerns, while the university’s VP/Legal Affairs sent a letter accusing Hiott of making false statements and that KUT had not previously agreed to the required safety requests wth “numerous meetings” to go over concerns. In a response Hiott had said, “While it is true that KUT and its production team had many meetings with the university over the past several months, KUT was never informed at any point until Friday’s cancellation that there were any university concerns that threatened the viability of the festival.”

Hiott joined KUT in 2019 after 28 years at the Austin American-Statesman where she rose from an intern to reporter to eventually spending seven years as its Editor. She also currently serves on the NPR Board of Directors.

The university intends to appoint an interim General Manager on Tuesday.