Nexstar is enacting a wave of layoffs across local news stations KTLA in Los Angeles and WGN in Chicago, a move that SAG-AFTRA immediately criticized Wednesday.
In a press release, the union mentioned that eight SAG-AFTRA members at Chicago’s WGN have been affected by cuts, as well as members at Los Angeles’ KTLA, both of which Nexstar owns as part of its 2019 acquisition of Tribune Broadcasting.
Some of the on-air talent reportedly laid off include WGN’s critic and reporter Dean Richards and sports anchor Chris Boden. Those affected by layoffs at KTLA were not named.
In a statement sent to TheWrap, a Nexstar spokesperson said: “Nexstar does not comment on personnel issues, but the company is taking steps necessary to compete effectively in this period of unprecedented change.”
SAG-AFTRA said in the press release that the layoffs “strike a serious blow to a trusted source of news and information on which these communities depend.” Union president Sean Astin shared those same sentiments in a statement.
“By laying off journalists across the country, Nexstar is eroding the resources and talent that local communities rely on for trusted news,” Astin said. “These actions highlight the risks of media consolidation and underscore the urgent need for regulators and the company to prioritize the public interest and the professionals who serve it,” Astin wrote.
The release noted that the cutbacks come in the midst of negotiations between Nexstar stations in multiple markets. It adds that Nexstar is pushing to “gut severance pay” in exchange for “onerous provisions into the union contract” that would limit workers’ ability to freely bargain their own deals for employment. In addition, SAG-AFTRA points out that Nexstar is in the middle of finalizing its purchase of media company Tegna, a consolidation the union notes as “troubling” as it relates it Nexstar axing local newsroom jobs.
“Our members are trusted voices in their communities, and they deserve contracts that respect their work and safeguard their futures,” SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “SAG-AFTRA will not stand by while the future of local news is put at risk. We will continue to fight for strong agreements that protect journalists and the audiences who rely on them every single day.”
