WGN-TV lays off eight on-air reporters and anchors Monday in massive downsizing
The ax falls on WGN-Ch. 9 cuts to a wide swath of “Chicago’s Very Own” TV newsroom.
Eight senior reporters and anchors were laid off on Monday, according to newsroom sources.
Sean Lewis, who has worked at WGN-TV for nearly two decades and has anchored the weekend morning broadcast since 2010, received the bad news Monday afternoon.
“This afternoon I presented my final report for WGN on the noon show,” Lewis, 50, said. “A lot of good people lost their jobs today, and that’s a shame.”
Lewis, a union representative at WGN, was sitting in a meeting where a colleague was being fired. When the meeting ended, his bosses asked him to stay and added his name to the list. As of Monday evening, the final number of layoffs reached eight.
The massive downsizing is casting a shadow over the newsroom, according to insiders who say Dallas-based owner Nexstar Media has reduced the station to a shell of its former self.
“It’s not often you leave a room full of people who work in TV news speechless, and today was one of those days,” said a newsroom source. “It was a pretty tough day.”
Monday’s layoffs are the latest at WGN-TV, which has been eliminating various positions for several months, according to several newsroom sources who requested anonymity for fear of losing their own jobs.
Last month, six news writers were laid off and three head coach positions were eliminated. According to sources, all four floor director positions were eliminated in October.
“Nexstar does not comment on personnel issues, but the company is taking the necessary steps to compete effectively during this period of unprecedented change,” Nexstar spokesman Gary Weitman said in a statement Monday.
Akemi Harrison, who was appointed news director at WGN-TV in August, reportedly held group meetings with newsroom staff on Tuesday, ostensibly to discuss the restructuring, according to sources.
Nextstar Media acquired WGN-Ch. 9th in 2019 within the scope of $4.1 billion acquisition Chicago-based Tribune Media, the former broadcast parent company of Tribune Publishing, creates the nation’s largest local TV station group and brings WGN’s TV, radio and cable stations under the Dallas company’s ownership.
His biggest projects include the former WGN America NewsNationA network that has morphed into a 24/7 cable news network, fallen behind in the ratings, and is still trying to carve out its own niche behind the big three (Fox News, MS NOW, and CNN).
In August, Nexstar reached a deal to acquire rival TV station owner Tegna for $6.8 billion; it’s a pending megamerger that would require the Federal Communications Commission to lift the 39% national TV audience ownership cap to gain approval.
The following month, Nexstar announced its decision to pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from ABC affiliates over the late-night host’s comments regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The move was seen by some industry analysts as an attempt to curry favor with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who has threatened potential license revocation for affiliates that continue to carry Kimmel.
Nexstar rebooted the show nine days later amid widespread backlash from viewers, Hollywood, and free speech advocates.
Last week, Carr said he was ready to approve the Nexstar-Tegna merger.
The Chicago Tribune was started by WGN-Ch. 9 hit the airwaves from Tribune Tower in 1948. Over the years the station was best known Chicago Cubs“Bozo’s Circus,” classic reruns and Chicago-based programming. These days, WGN strengthens its home turf by airing an extensive lineup of local news programming each week, including a six-hour daily morning news block.
Born into a news family, Lewis, a Kenosha native, grew up watching WGN, pointing his TV antenna toward Chicago. The city and the station became his home during a long broadcast run.
“I’ve loved WGN since I watched it as a kid, and for 19 years I’ve lived the dream of being able to tell the stories of Chicago,” Lewis said. “I can’t wait to see what the next chapter of my story will be, but I’m not moving. This is my city.”
The sudden layoffs of on-air staff caused some reporters to huddle “in the middle of their shifts” on Monday, according to a source. They fear broader downsizing could lead to a reduction in the overall news product at WGN-TV.
Lewis said station management made it clear Monday that the reduction in force was due to budget constraints. The loss of “institutional knowledge of this city and its news” could be much more costly for WGN, he said.
After being laid off for the first time in his long career, Lewis said one regret was at the top of his list of unplanned departures.
“I wish I could say goodbye to the wonderful audience,” Lewis said.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
