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CBS O&Os slash employees: Summary from across the country

T

TedL

No word about layoffs at the CBS TV network or other CBS Corp. divisions, but CBS owned stations in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston were the latest sites of layoffs being forced on CBS stations as the company reacts to a sour 2007 income.

Local TV income was supposed to climb, according to the BIA Financial Network forecast in January... climb to a ten-year high:
http://www.bia.com/pressitem1.asp?id=1115

Once Westinghouse WBZ-TV Boston is said to have lost 30 employees stationwide:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1084192&srvc=rss

"The cuts didn't include reporters or anchors, who are under contract," the Boston Herald reported.

The WBZ cuts are the most in number at any of the stations where the layoffs have been reported by local media.

The Hearald says CBS Corp. took a big financial hit last year, reporting a 14.6 percent decline in fourth-quarter earnings. Revenue fell 3 percent, to $3.76 billion.

At once-Westinghouse KPIX, San Francisco (and its sister CW station), 14 were let go, including an aging reporter/anchor with time as an NBC correspondent and anchor. The four on-air staffers were all male, and all look or are over 40.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/01/BATIVTNB4.DTL

Chicago Sun-Times media writer Robert Feder's item is headlined "CBS 2 Bloodbath." Feder says 17 were let go, including an anchor who was "a cornerstone of an attempt to rebuild" the struggling news effort.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/feder/870501,CST-FIN-feder01.article

Feder writes: "Along with at least four layoffs in early March and others at the end of 2007, Monday's cutbacks further plunged morale among staffers."

WCBS-TV, New York is losing two faces and a Sunday sports show, but there are other cuts behind the scenes, according to Richard Huff, NY Daily News TV Editor:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...8-04-01_channel_2_lays_off_two_reporters.html

Last week, layoffs at other CBS O&O's sent people reeling to the street:

In Dallas/Fort worth former Dallas Morning News TV columnist Ed Bark reports that sources tell him as many as 60 people may have been axed at KXAS, 11 and sister KTXA, 21.

Bark has been following the layoffs on his "Uncle Barky.com" website:
http://www.unclebarky.com/abovethefold_files/1d459ae799b1cd7b37e0f49ecbe917dc-842.html

Bark says Iola Johnson has also been let go. D/FW's first black television anchor, she'd most recently hosted KTXA's "Positively Texas" at 6:30 Sunday mornings.
http://www.unclebarky.com/abovethefold_files/956453dee2db91eda3fda70e663adfbb-843.html

In Denver, KCNC lost at least six people according to both the Denver business paper...
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/03/24/daily41.html?

And the Denver Post's TV writer:
http://www.denverpost.com/television/ci_8719563

(Nothing about the layoffs shows up via the Rocky Mountain News website. Hmmm.)

Eleven newsroom employees at CBS O&O KYW-TV, Philadelphia reportedly were jobless, Fri. 3/28/08
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillygossip/17096291.html

Blogger Laura Nachman http://lauranachman.wordpress.com/ reported 11 positions were targeted, including sales, news and other departments at the once-Westinghouse station.

Layoffs were also made at sister station, former Group W KDKA-TV, Pittsburgh, where industry website TV Spy http://www.tvspy.com/index.cfm reports more than half a dozen staffers were let go and that several positions won't be filled.
http://www.tvspy.com/shoptalk.cfm?page=1 (Mar. 28 content may be replaced by unrelated headlines as days go by.)

Pittsburg Post-Gazette TV Editor Rob Owen reported around 10 positions gone, including unfilled ones.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08092/869416-237.stm

http://www.sfltv.com/2008/03/26/layoffs-due-to-cost-cutting-at-wfor/
has the Miami picture... including posts reportedly from staffers. Dan Roujansky had been with the station for 30+ years.

WCCO John Reger was one of those laid off in M/St.P:
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/17088271.html

There are other markets with CBS O&O's that haven't been heard from.

While the the CBS layoffs were beginning Wednesday (3/27/08), attendees at the TVB Marketing Conference opening session heard a gloomy picture, entitled: "It's the Economy, Stupid."

Standard and Poor's chief economist David Wyss began, "I think we're in a recession. Now."
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/03/27/daily.7/ (Registration may be required.)

Have things changed from January and BIA's reasons for optimism?

The layoffs are bad for the internet, according to blogger Frank Barnako:
http://barnako.typepad.com/barnakocom/2008/04/in-the-wake-of.html
 
TedL said:
In Dallas/Fort worth former Dallas Morning News TV columnist Ed Bark reports that sources tell him as many as 60 people may have been axed at KXAS, 11 and sister KTXA, 21.

Bark has been following the layoffs on his "Uncle Barky.com" website:
http://www.unclebarky.com/abovethefold_files/1d459ae799b1cd7b37e0f49ecbe917dc-842.html

Bark says Iola Johnson has also been let go. D/FW's first black television anchor, she'd most recently hosted KTXA's "Positively Texas" at 6:30 Sunday mornings.
http://www.unclebarky.com/abovethefold_files/956453dee2db91eda3fda70e663adfbb-843.html
Click to expand...

The station is actually KTVT, not KXAS (Ch. 5, the NBC affil there)

Didn't know about Iola. Surely Fox wouldn't do that to Clarice Tinsley at KDFW; she deserves to retire on her own terms when the time comes.
 
Whoops==KTVT it should have been/CBSLayoff tracker doesn't mention itself...

Whoops==

KTVT!

No word whether there are any layoffs at the network level... but on the CBS News website, there's a Layoff Tracker.

It covers the country as a whole, and breaks layoffs down by Industry.

CBS mentions NBC Univision layoffs... but hasn't yet included CBS.
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/economy/unemployment/framesource_pink.html

Don't know what the threshold for getting on the list is... some businesses are on the list at 400 layoffs.

Ted.
 
KCBS-KCAL lose on air and off camera people-Five sellers reported out

Five sales people are among the people let go at CBS owned KCBS-TV/KCAL in LA according to posts on TVSpy.com

http://tvspy.vault.com/cb/mb/mb_main.jsp?forum_id=11391&parrefer=247&ch_id=424

The layoffs yesterday included two executive producers, four reporters and two anchors, posters said.

Reporters Jennifer Sabih, Jennifer Davis, Jaime Garza, Greg Phillips were said to have been cut.

Anchors Harold Greene and Ann Martin were said to "have been confirmed" as casualties by sister radio station KFWB. No story to that effect could be found on KFWB's website.

One poster reported lots of rumors that IBEW technicians and WGA represented writers and staff would be offered buyouts in the next few days.
 
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