Numerous press and social media reports say Nexstar has fired many key longtime staffers at its stations in NYC, LA and Chicago. Big names with big salaries now gone at big stations to lower expenses prior to the apparent deal to acquire Tegna. It won't stop with just the Nexstar stations when the deal goes through in markets where the two companies own properties. Consolidation looms. Portland is a good example.
Wow...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2026/2/25/nexstar-swings-the-ax-in-la
You are right. A lot of big names at all of the stations, especially at WGN. Curious what they will do with NewsNation
DeleteAs long as the current administration is in power, my guess would be that NN presses on as the media landscape is re-formed. Battling Newsmax, I think the channel will make major supportive runs for GOP candidates as the mid-terms get closer. They have big-salaried hosts there and Banfield is already stepping down. Cuomo is the linchpin. If Nexstar gets Tegna, there are several strong stations to pump up the national coverage. KING, WFAA among them. Lots to consider.
DeleteYup. Also KUSA in Denver and 11Alive in Atlanta
DeleteI suspect NewsNation is here to stay as it has found a small audience and is becoming an option for those on the right who want something that isn't as far right as Fox. From what little I've seen of NewsNation, they are definitely right-leaning and becoming moreso with time, but they are noticeably closer to the center than Fox.
DeleteAa for the layoffs at WGN, KTLA, and WPIX, I am shocked and saddened. I knew Nexstar would swing the ax to deal with Tegna's debt, but I did not expect their top three stations to be impacted to this degree. WGN and KTLA are cash cows for Nexstar with iconic, highly rated newscasts, and very heavy news and local programming outputs. WPIX is similar, though with lower ratings and less money coming in after yrars of turnoil that had, until this week, largely been resolved for the past few years. I wish everyone who was laid off all the best with whatever the future may hold for them.
Cutting your way to business success! It works every time. What a mess and totally pointless. Best wishes to those impacted by the corporate chainsaw.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of TEGNA, new union effort at KGW in Portland. TEGNA appears to be challenging it though.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ibew48.com/announcement/kgw-workers-vote-to-be-represented-by-local-48/
https://nwlaborpress.org/2026/02/kgw-producers-vote-on-whether-to-join-ibew-local-48/
https://www.nlrb.gov/case/19-RC-376874
As how the Nexstar purchase may impact KING, I could see it being similar to the buyouts back in 2014-15, if not full-on terminations. Nexstar could buy out/boot Taylor and insert Castro as the primary evening anchor (solo anchoring the 5 or alongside Copeland), as Castro is a more visible face on the primetime slots (and more affordable), whereas Taylor is that of a legacy employee in the same way that Enersen was before her. In sports, Silvi may get the boot or a buy-out and Egan may get the top director job. Again, Egan is a more visible face and perhaps the best sports reporter in the market as he has shown time and again that he can do studio work, out on the field and even remotes. Alternatively, Silvi can do perhaps the 5 and 6:30 and 7 and Egan can do the 9, 10 and 11. In terms of weather, Marriott is their senior most meteorologist on staff, but I have an inkling that this year will perhaps be his last and retire on his own accord. They may have Lewis as Chief to cover evenings, but they still seem to be drawing lots with the younger folks like Ruiz and Claibon and Pezzetti who is covering what timeslot and seems somewhat unbalanced. I personally like structure and consistency and if they are in need of an extra hand, Welch is on deck. Nexstar (like so many media organizations), likes to hire them cheap; my only hope is that they don't cheapen the presentation of the newscasts as some that I have seen and can't mention the call letters look like they were (figuratively speaking) produced in the garage or basement. As the old adage goes: "Stay tuned for the latest".
ReplyDeleteFor the sake of argument and conversation, I think K5 sports talent is totally safe because of the Hawks partnership, the Kraken deal and NBC's major commitment to NFL, MLB and NBA.
DeleteBut, Nexstar has just pummeled its flagships in Chicago, LA and NY, so they look likte they are going 'big name hunting.' No telling what they will do with KING. Off the top of my head, with very little male bench strength, I will offer that Whittenberg and Copeland are in good spots. On the distaff side, you have Joyce, Jessica, Mimi, Madison, and Christine Pae. That's a heavy number and a looming target, as would be the five weather anchors. KOMO has four, counting Theron Zahn. Fox also has four, not counting occasional help from Nikki Torres. KIRO has three. (I hope I correctly covered all the math). I do hope Marriott can depart on his own terms if and when he wants to. Leah would be my top choice as an eventual a.m. successor.
Staying tuned is a must.
I agree with Wayne that KING's sports talent is safe because of the Seahawks and Kraken partnerships, along with NBC's major league sporting commitments. I would also add NBC's Olympics coverage as a further argument against Nexstar laying anyone off from KING's sports department. This goes double if the NBA announces that the Sonics will return to Seattle, as many believe is a very real possibility. That, plus heavy competition from Fox 13, might even make Nexstar decide to expand KING's sports department.
DeleteOn the weather front, KING doesn't have an unreasonable number of meterologists given the number of newscasts they produce. A lot of stations with lower news outputs than KING have five or more meterologists. One example is WNCT in Eastern North Carolina, which just happens to be a Nexstar owned station. They have five meterologists listed on staff, but only produce about half as many hours of news each week as KING does. So KING's weather team might actually stand a good chance of remaining fully intact once Nexstar takes over. I of course hope that Marriott is able to retire on his own terms, and not before he is ready to do so. Nexstar might be keen to push him out the door the way they just laid off longtime KTLA (Los Angeles) morning meterologist Mark Kriski, and Leah is certainly a good choice to be Marriott's sucessor when the time comes. I just hope Nexstar doesn't make that day come any sooner than it has to.
As for the anchor desk, Whittenberg and Copeland are in good positions as KING's only male anchors. KING doesn't have an unreasonable number of female anchors given the number of newscasts they produce. However, I have heard some speculation that Nexstar might be aiming to drop down to just a single anchor on some weeknight newscasts. WPIX in New York just lost two of their four evening anchors, so they are already trying out this concept there (I say "trying out" because its not clear yet if Nexstar really is going ahead with this single anchor concept, or if its just tempoary until the deck chairs can be reshuffled), with one anchor reading at 4pm and 5pm, and the other reading at 6pm and 10pm. So that could open the door for one or two of KING's anchors to be let go. I hope Nexstar doesn't let any of them go, but the writing does seem to be on the wall.