Jeff Aiello exits as (Fresno, CA) Valley PBS chief executive. Search kicks off to find replacement.

Filmmaker Jeff Aiello is out at Valley PBS ( KVPT-TV, Fresno, CA), ending his tenure at the station three years after becoming CEO. Valley PBS now returns to the days of hunting for a new CEO after running through a number of executives in the last decade. 

The big picture: Aiello oversaw a number of projects during his tenure at Valley PBS, including the documentary telling the story of local radio station KMJ last year for its 100-year anniversary, a documentary about the devastating Creek Fire and a documentary exploring the wrongful imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WWII. 

• But last May the station was hit with an audit revealing that Valley PBS had to send nearly $340,000 in funds to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Valley PBS was on the hook for nearly $39,000 in fines for infractions and had to repay $300,000 in Community Service Grant funds due to over-reporting non-federal funds. 

• Those issues, however, happened mostly before Aiello took charge, with the audit investigating the station’s finances from July 2018 to July 2021. Aiello was hired in May 2021, replacing former CEO Lorenzo Rios. 

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