Out The Door in Baton Rouge

WBRZ Investigative Reporter Chris Nakamoto is leaving the station.

Sources tell FTVLive that contract negotiations between the station and Nakamoto did not go well, and Nakamoto has decided to walk.

On the station’s website, Nakamoto was quoted as saying, “"In life we all have decisions that we have to make. Some are easy, and some have to be made with careful consideration and prayer. I firmly believe that new challenges are what we should all strive for in life by avoiding complacency,"

Sources say that WBRZ General Manager Trey Schmaltz was not at all happy about losing the station’s top Reporter.

The News Director is also gone and sources tell FTVLive that Schmaltz has named himself part of a “news director committee” that will run the newsroom until they can find a new ND.

He sent this memo to the staff about editorial meetings in which he will now be attending.