DAVISON OUT IN KTLA SHAKE-UP

The news team at KTLA Channel 5 has been shaken up, with Debby Davison out and Tiiu Leek and sportscaster Ed Arnold in new posts.

The station did not renew the contract of Davison, the weeknight co-anchor on “News at 10,” and replaced her by weekend anchor Leek.

Meanwhile, Arnold, former sports and news reporter at KABC-TV Channel 7, joins Channel 5 as the weekend sports anchor for “News at 10.” He also will supplement Keith Olbermann’s regular weekday reports.

Davison, 35, had been a Channel 5 news anchor since 1979.

“We tried to let Debby know six months ago that there was a good chance we weren’t going to renew her,” said KTLA news director Jeff Wald, who was instrumental in hiring her from a West Palm Beach, Fla., station. “I think she got into a little bit of a rut, and it seemed obvious the challenge just wasn’t there, and wasn’t going to be there for Debby any more.”

Davison agreed, saying she felt she was stagnating and that she sensed about nine months ago that KTLA management was considering her ouster when her contract expired. She said she approached Wald about doing “one more real strong piece of work” before leaving the station.

As a result, she participated in a five-part series called “Mental Medicine,” on the healing powers of the mind, which was broadcast last month.

Davison said she’s not bitter and leaves many friends at KTLA.