When WKRC-TV reporter Larry Davis retired in July after 35 years covering Cincinnati news – a month after Deb Dixon retired after 44 years at the station – I posed the question: Are we witnessing a changing of the guard at Channel 12, the station with Cincinnati's most veteran reporting staff?
Today the answer is: Yes, definitely.
With Joe Webb's retirement Sept. 27, after 31 years on Cincinnati TV, WKRC-TV has seen 110 years of experience walk out the newsroom door in four months (Webb, Dixon and Davis). The station in the past year also has lost veteran anchor Brad Johansen, and meteorologists Scott Dimmich and Brandon Orr.
Why?
In my opinion, there are three factors – all tracing directly to the station's owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group. In other words, Channel 12's problems are self-inflicted.
One is the fallout from Sinclair's mandated TV commentary (which wasn't labeled "opinion" or "editorial" in March newscasts) complaining about "the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-side news stories plaguing our country." The corporate statement was read word-for-word by Rob Braun, Cammy Dierking -- and other Sinclair anchors nationwide.
Another is the newsroom's frustration seeing valuable newscast time consumed with Sinclair's heavy-handed schedule of "must run" features – nightly "Terrorism Alert Desk" updates; promotions for Sinclair's Sunday morning Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson and the weekday DailyMailTV syndicated show on WSTR-TV; and conservative views from four Sinclair commentators.
And third, there are Sinclair's budget-conscious ways. When Sinclair bought WKRC-TV in December 2012 from Newport Television, Channel 12 had the city's most veteran TV reporting staff (Dixon, Webb, Davis, Jeff Hirsh, Rich Jaffe), which helped make it No. 1 in the household ratings for more than 15 years – for weekday newscasts mornings, evenings and nights. I kept a close eye on Channel 12's staffing, but the veterans remained.
Until now.
When I told Dixon I had been watching for years to see if any vets were leaving, she told me in June: "So they just waited a little bit."
Dixon, arguably the city's best crime reporter on TV, told me that "if the company had wanted me to stay, it would not have given me an offer that was so easy to refuse. With a better offer, I would have considered another year because of the family I'm leaving behind."
The belt-tightening and loss of institutional memory at WKRC-TV isn't unique. In 2012, WCPO-TV retained its popular anchors but turned over a lot of its news staffers, replacing them with younger, less expensive reporters. In 2014, the Enquirer lost 50 people – including me and two dozen others whose job descriptions were eliminated or changed radically. Some jobs were never filled; others were filled with much younger, less expensive reporters. WCPO-TV this year dropped experienced morning anchors Chris Riva and Kathrine Nero – and hasn't replaced them. Their work has been spread among several staffers. Were the Riva-Nero departures a salary dump?
