Howard Beale

Let's talk some more about these layoffs! This is huge! According to this post on Reddit, layoffs happened at 12 stations thus far, and I'm sure more are to come. Some stations only had one or two layoffs, while others (like KEYC in Mankato, Minnesota) lost most of its news staff. This has to be especially bad if Gray can't wait until after Election Day or the November book to start cutting.

Here's something substantial from the Scripps world. The company settled a discrimination lawsuit filed by Michael Brooks, a former KJRH-TV news anchor who said the station fired him because he's gay. Source: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/scipps-media-gay-tv-anchor-settle-workplace-discrimination-case (paywalled) Here's some background on the case: https://casetext.com/case/brooks-v-scripps-media-inc According to the lawsuit, KJRH's then-GM Amy Calvert learned Brooks was gay, and told him his sexual orientation could affect his job "because this is Tulsa after all." He was later reassigned and given more work responsibilities. The lawsuit shows Calvert also falsely accused Brooks of trying to extort then-news director Gerardo Lopez. Brooks was later fired. Calvert is now the GM at KOKH-TV, the Sinclair-owned station in Oklahoma City. Lopez left KJRH to become news director at WBZ-TV in Boston.

19 people at Fox affiliate KADN in Lafayette, Louisiana lost their jobs in Allen Media's layoffs. The weekday morning and noon newscasts are also cancelled. Source; https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/business/kadn-lays-off-19-including-four-from-its-morning-show/article_454e0644-8650-11ef-89df-df9c993ae5fb.html

It sounds like Hearst is also toying with the idea of “one manager in charge of several stations” money-saving concept that Scripps embraced. KCRA (Sacramento) news director Derek Schnell is now a regional news director who’s also responsible for KSBW (Monterey, CA) and KOAT (Albuquerque), and still has to be ND for KCRA. Source: https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/hearst-television-promotes-derek-schnell-to-regional-director-of-news/

How is Adam Symson still the CEO despite everything going on with Scripps? Scripps has cut numerous jobs, Scripps News is dead as of November 15, and the company's stock price is down by nearly 59% since this time last year.

FTVLive's Scott Jones says he believes Scripps plans to sell its Detroit station, WXYZ, based on the fact that the company is renovating the station. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2024/9/24/is-scripps-looking-to-sell Correlation does not equal causation, yadda yadda yadda. But in my experience, broadcasters that want to unload stations will give the place a proverbial coat of paint beforehand, to help win over any potential buyers.

FTVLive reports, in a paywalled story, that Gray is "tightening hiring." I haven't seen what's behind the paywall, and Gray's recruiters still seem to be pretty active on LinkedIn when it comes to posting job openings. However, I would not be surprised if Gray did decide to leave some open jobs unfilled. It's harder than ever to recruit ANYONE to work in TV news.

I’m old enough to remember the hand-wringing that occurred when KRON-TV in San Francisco publicly embraced the MMJ concept as a cost-cutting move. After all, one-man-bands were for small-and-cheap markets, not top-ten markets! But look what happened in the following two decades. MMJs are everywhere, even in New York City (and I’m not just referring to NY1), and they’re not going away. Other broadcast companies will follow Scripps’ lead if it means saving money. That includes anchor-less newscasts, pre-recorded newscasts, etc. This kind of cost-cutting may very well hurt the business. But the people who drove the metaphorical Titanic into the metaphorical iceberg don’t seem to care.

The Scripps “neighborhood reporter” is just a reimagined beat reporter or a bureau reporter from the old days. What’s old is new again. Whatever you call the concept, I think it’s a good thing because it encourages journalists to become specialists (for lack of better word) in the community they cover. That usually leads to better stories. The difference is whether Scripps will stick with the idea or ditch it. And with the way the Scripps stock price has dropped? The odds are more likely that CEO Adam Symson — the architect of the “neighborhood reporter” concept — will be out of a job and a new person will come in and change things up.

Large journalism schools like Syracuse and Missouri (among others) have the means, resources, and industry clout to keep offering courses in on-screen reporting even if the demand is not there. Smaller schools do not. For example, Arkansas State University discontinued its MMJ program last year due to low enrollment. TV news does not interest today's college graduates, and therefore, these schools have an incentive to offer courses in subjects that do interest students. After all, who wants to pay tuition for college courses that prepare you for a job where the median starting salary — according to a RTDNA survey — is $37,500?

Lougee is getting out while the getting is still good for him. He made $10.9 million in total compensation in 2023, and stands to make at least $6 million simply by retiring. I’m certain Tegna will have a nice and comfy arrangement for him in his “senior advisor” role as well. Source: https://investors.tegna.com/node/29976/html#executive_summary

It doesn’t sound like Graham is adding more managers. I think they're combining several management jobs into one. I say this, because one of the MCC job duties is to “act as the news director in their absence.” That’s typically up to the assistant news director to do. Other duties listed in the job posting sound similar to what you’d expect from an executive producer and a managing editor. It therefore sounds like Graham will reduce at least five jobs — assistant ND, morning EP, dayside EP, evening EP, and managing editor — into three MCC jobs. And I'm sure the salaries won't match the job responsibilities either.

The old Graham Media Group thread is archived. It’s time to start a new one, due in part to this interesting development. Graham Media Group is apparently applying the MMJ concept (one person does the jobs of two or three people) to its local management. Its six stations have job openings for a so-called “Manager of Content and Coverage.” Judging by the job description, this sounds like a mashup of an assistant news director, an executive producer, and possibly even a managing editor. I wouldn’t be surprised if this MCC person even had to line produce on occasion! Here’s the job opening for reference: https://www.click2houston.com/careers/2024/05/28/manager-of-content-and-coverage-three-openings-available/ I can’t say I’m surprised about this new development in management. Graham is in cost-cutting mode. They recently went through a round of buyouts. Plus, they hired Sean McLaughlin, the ex-Scripps news executive who spearheaded that company’s bungled news reorganization.

It varies by state. You typically will not find unions at TV stations in states that ban union membership as a condition of employment, aka “right to work” states. Larger markets are typically unionized in part or whole, but even small markets can have a union presence, i.e. Erie, Pennsylvania. Union representation usually, but not always, breaks down as follows: SAG-AFTRA: On-air reporters and anchors NABET-CWA: Photographers, editors, directors, engineers, producers (sometimes), assignment editors (sometimes) IBEW: Photographers, editors, engineers WGA: Producers IATSE: Directors, photographers, editors, engineers

Here's an update from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In short, KMOV's GM said the script originally said "homeowners of color" but "was inadvertently changed and mistakenly read on air." More info: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/kmov-apologizes-after-anchor-uses-colored-to-describe-minority-homeowners/article_35c21cca-da56-11ee-b988-9b2d028d026b.html

The University of Missouri released the results of a study on journalist burnout. In short, journalists — especially those in TV news — are burned out. SARCASM ALERT: Yep, I’m sure you’re just as surprised as I am. The study recommends several solutions to the problem, including: Flexible shifts (e.g. four-day weeks, hybrid/remote shifts) Manageable workloads and responsibilities A more-supportive culture The study acknowledged but did not suggest pay raises, because pay raises are often beyond a news director’s control and cannot be implemented unless some corner office suit in Irving, Texas or Hunt Valley, Maryland approves it. Read the study here: https://rjionline.org/news/addressing-burnout-in-journalism-means-flexible-shifts-more-supportive-culture-results-of-large-scale-survey-from-rji-and-smithgeiger/ My thoughts: Pay raises are the best solution, but corporate broadcast groups just won’t do it because that will affect the bottom line. You can’t have flexible shifts and manageable workloads without enough staff, and many TV newsrooms are short-staffed as is despite producing many hours of daily newscasts. TV news is a creature of habit and resistant to change. I question whether it’s already too late to reverse the brain drain.

I doubt the Scrippscasts will go away. Adam Symson made the big to-do about the "news initiative" in May of 2023 and he hinted at what was to come. Plus, Scrippscasts are no doubt cheaper to produce. It's too late for Scripps to hit reverse after investing so much time and effort into Symson's grand vision.

I don't think there's a need to "fire/cancel the guy." If this was an honest mistake, treat it as such, and learn from it. But don't sweep it under the rug either. I doubt many people would have known about this if the NABJ didn't issue a statement. KMOV owes its audience an explanation of how and why this happened.

I didn't find the video on their website. Someone else did and posted the video to TikTok. I searched KMOV's website and did not find the initial video or any subsequent apologies. However, from what I've read online, Cory Stark did apologize. "Poor word choices" is an understatement. Yes, mistakes happen, but we're talking about an outdated and racist term for Black people that somehow made it into a news broadcast in 2024.

TVNewsCheck is officially back as of today. According to a statement posted on its website, TVNewsCheck had a "promising response" to its plea for subscribers. https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/tvnewscheck-returns/

This somehow flew under the radar. A news anchor at KMOV in St. Louis referred to Black homeowners as "colored" homeowners in a news tease. The NABJ called out KMOV, and according to the group, "there have been multiple on-air apologies and KMOV management has met with local leaders." I didn't see any apologies or statements on KMOV's website about what happened or why it happened. Video of what happened: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealfoxyroxystl/video/7340308283971980590

Big changes typically follow bad quarterly financial reports. Scripps did an executive reorganization and placed Kate O’Brian as the top executive in charge of Scripps News, Court TV, and Scripps’ local TV stations. The VPs at Scripps News and Court TV kept their jobs. The VP in charge of local news, Sean McLaughlin, did not. FTVLive hypothesizes that McLaughlin is the scapegoat for the cost-cutting changes to news broadcasts at Scripps stations in the past few months. Company memo here: https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2024/2/29/the-first-show-drops-at-scripps

This is a very embarrassing snafu for Tegna's Oregon station, KGW-TV. It broadcast a racist photo from the 1940s during its feel-good news/entertainment program, The Good Stuff. KGW management apologized but did not explain how or why it happened. https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2024/02/portland-news-station-airs-racist-image-during-share-a-photo-from-your-past-that-makes-you-smile-segment.html According to Snopes, the photo in question came from a 1942 YMCA brochure for a summer camp in Wisconsin.

Utah outlawed non-competes. Thus, it's easier than ever to jump to another station. Plus, KUTV is a Sinclair station, and I'm sure the salaries and wages there are even worse than what the penny-pinchers at Nexstar pay.

I was researching Denver TV salaries for another thread, and saw KUSA has a LOT of producer openings. Specifically, seven total: one EP, two producers, and four senior producers. I know producers are in demand and most every TV station these days has producer openings, but what’s going on at KUSA with so many openings?