By Lily Kepner and Tony Plohetski
Austin American-Statesman
Originally published June 17, 2026
The University of Texas’ firing of a respected journalist and general manager of public radio station KUT reverberated from Austin to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, raising questions about the station’s increasingly fraught relationship with UT.
University officials terminated Debbie Hiott on Monday (June 16) over her planning of the station’s inaugural community festival. Days before the festival was set to take place, UT leaders ordered KUT to scale back its plans over security concerns, prompting the station to move some events off campus.
Some worried that the university was attempting to curtail political speech at the event, where Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker was the keynote speaker. Hiott’s public response has since brought questions about whether security concerns were a pretext to remove the festival from campus. …
“The (Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas) is committed to transparency in public institutions and the free flow of information to the people of our state,” said the foundation, where Hiott is a board member, in a statement. “We are concerned that the firing of Debbie Hiott as general manager of KUT is contrary to both of these principles.” …
Emails obtained through the Texas Public Information Act between Anita Vangelisti, interim dean of the Moody College of Communication, and Hiott paint a picture of top university leaders stepping outside their purview to find security flaws in KUT’s plans and shape messaging about the changes.