1 of 1- DX
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WKBW-TV Layoffs
This is part of E.W. Scripts Co.'s sweeping layoffs of 268 people across the U.S., along with a pivot to 24/7 news streaming.
From the Buffalo Broadcasters Association:
"Eight members of WKBW-TV will be let go on September 1 as part of the E.W. Scripps nationwide reorganization. Among those being let go is anchor Pheben Kassahun.
"Scripps is scrapping 268 jobs across its local TV stations and operations. The restructuring shifts focus toward 24/7 digital and streaming news models, centralizes digital hubs, and leans heavily into AI and workflow automation.
"Among those losing their jobs are the station’s assistant news director, Shannon Ross, three directors, including, Michelle Kaiser Sabadasz, a 30 year employee, an executive producer, an executive producer of digital news and a producer."
Last edited by DX (August 5, 2026 10:14 pm)
- RadioActive
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Re: WKBW-TV Layoffs
Here's a link to the full article from the Buffalo News.
- mace
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Re: WKBW-TV Layoffs
Gee if Scripps looked across the border to CFTO, they could save even more money by having the anchors do the sports and occasionally the weather.
- RadioActive
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Re: WKBW-TV Layoffs
The former home of the legendary Irv Weinstein is looking sadder and sadder. Once an unbeatable #1 with "Eyewitness News," Scripps-owned WKBW-TV now seems to be "No One Witnesses News."
And not only are they apparently not ready to hire more reporters after a huge layoff, but it appears they're no longer even going live to air.
"(The) proclamation that the station would “do more live” is a thing of the past. Channel 7 has been recording many newscasts for some time rather than carry them live. Channel 7 rarely carries anything live anymore.
Last week, (anchor Jeff) Russo introduced a couple of stories on the 11 p.m. recorded newscast and disappeared. The rest of the newscast consisted of recorded stories without any introductions by the anchor. Recording newscasts appear to be the future for Channel 7 morning, noon and night starting this week and continuing next week."
Pre-recorded news. What a terrible ending to such a great legacy.
Sad reality of failed WKBW-TV makeover includes recorded newscasts
- RadioAaron
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Re: WKBW-TV Layoffs
mace wrote:
Gee if Scripps looked across the border to CFTO, they could save even more money by having the anchors do the sports and occasionally the weather.
It’ll come. Fee-tor-carriage bought US stations a little more time, but the clock’s ticking.
- DX
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Re: WKBW-TV Layoffs
The former home of the legendary Irv Weinstein is looking sadder and sadder. Once an unbeatable #1 with "Eyewitness News," Scripps-owned WKBW-TV now seems to be "No One Witnesses News."
And not only are they apparently not ready to hire more reporters after a huge layoff, but it appears they're no longer even going live to air.
"(The) proclamation that the station would “do more live” is a thing of the past. Channel 7 has been recording many newscasts for some time rather than carry them live. Channel 7 rarely carries anything live anymore.
Last week, (anchor Jeff) Russo introduced a couple of stories on the 11 p.m. recorded newscast and disappeared. The rest of the newscast consisted of recorded stories without any introductions by the anchor. Recording newscasts appear to be the future for Channel 7 morning, noon and night starting this week and continuing next week."
Pre-recorded news. What a terrible ending to such a great legacy.
Sad reality of failed WKBW-TV makeover includes recorded newscasts
In other words, Scripps is following the lead of Corus.
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Thread Starter- RadioActive
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Re: WKBW-TV Layoffs
This may be the sad future of WKBW-TV, which is owned by Scripps. The company has been making changes at its other stations and there's no reason to believe it won't happen at the Buffalo outlet. One of them is WMAR in Baltimore. They've begun an anchorless newscast, with no one fronting a desk or introducing a report. Only a weather person is occasionally present for the show.
And it may be the first of more to come.
"Anchor Kelly Swoope, who joined WMAR in 2003 and has been delivering evening newscasts for years, did not appear on air for the 7 p.m. or 11 p.m. broadcasts. Instead, graphics were used to transition between clips, and brief periods of dead air filled the space before ads."
In this case, less is definitely not more.
A newscast without anchors? Maryland’s oldest TV station tries a new format.
- RadioActive
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Re: WKBW-TV Layoffs
This may be the sad future of WKBW-TV, which is owned by Scripps. The company has been making changes at its other stations and there's no reason to believe it won't happen at the Buffalo outlet. One of them is WMAR in Baltimore. They've begun an anchorless newscast, with no one fronting a desk or introducing a report. Only a weather person is occasionally present for the show.
And it may be the first of more to come.
"Anchor Kelly Swoope, who joined WMAR in 2003 and has been delivering evening newscasts for years, did not appear on air for the 7 p.m. or 11 p.m. broadcasts. Instead, graphics were used to transition between clips, and brief periods of dead air filled the space before ads."
In this case, less is definitely not more.
A newscast without anchors? Maryland’s oldest TV station tries a new format.
One pundit who's seen the so-called "anchorless newscast" says it's not worth your time and it's unwatchable.
By getting rid of editors and producers who choose what goes on when, it produced a bland and confusing effort that proves TV News isn't ready for A.I. control.
"The other night, when I tuned into WMAR to see the new anchorless format, the first report was about a criminal trial, the second about a man who had exposed himself in a suburban shopping center. The first report seemed legit, but the second one stopped me: Was the arrest of a flasher the most important news story from that reporter’s beat? Was it really worth a full report, including sound bites from an outraged citizen (not the victim) and a law enforcement official?
The next segment was a weather report, and I had seen enough."
Casting off TV anchors, Scripps hits the anti-AI nerve
- ckg927
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Re: WKBW-TV Layoffs
Presumably, Detroit's WXYZ-TV and Cleveland's WEWS(also owned by Scripps)will get the same treatment that 7 News in Buffalo is facing. And the weird thing is 7 News had been using the same graphics package for a few years; the first 2 stations I mentioned upgraded theirs some time ago.