Death of WJBK's Murri Ruled Suicide

TheFebruary 2 death of Jeff Murri, vice
president and general manager at WJBK Detroit, has been ruled a suicide. An Oakland County Medical Examiner spokesperson confirmed the cause of death, saying it was a gunshot wound to the head, and that the examiner deemed it self-inflicted.

Murri was a popular and successful general manager at the Fox owned station in Detroit, and recipient of B&C's General Manager of the Year in 2011.

Jack Abernethy, CEO of Fox Television Stations, said in a Feb. 2 statement:

"We are devastated by the loss of one of our most beloved members of the Fox Television Stations family. There are no words to express the sadness of this tragedy. Jeff was an exceptional leader, a compassionate friend, a devoted husband and a loving father. He had great passion and dedication to WJBK and his legacy will live on in the many lives he touched. We will miss him tremendously."

Murri's funeral is Monday, Feb. 6, at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Rochester Hills, Mich.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.