I had heard some rumblings about Jackie almost a year ago. The word was that her contract would not be renewed, but I have no idea what her contract expiration date is.
Doesn't sound too surprising though... Barrington has been known for cutting expenses to the bone. You'd think their crappy ratings in Syracuse would justify the need to spend a little more and be competitive, but no. Just like a handful of other broadcasting companies, they're in pretty hot financial water right now.
Wayne is a rumor I hadn't heard before, but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised. Anyone who has been at any station for as long as these two have are basically walking targets. Corporate owners don't know how to put a value on name recognition or how the viewers will react. They just search their spreadsheets for any salaries which are much larger than the rest of the employees at the station, and they decide they can still get "good enough" ratings without these highly-paid personalities.
Five or ten years ago, Barrington or previous owner Raycom would have paid to hold onto these people because the other stations in town could have easily snatched them up. But today, all three Syracuse TV station owners are in rougher shape. The 3/5 combo knows they can drop anyone they want, even a primary, well-known co-anchor, and they won't have to worry about channel 9 picking them up. Tom Hauf is only doing weather at 9 on weekends and fill-ins, and Keith Kobland likely took a pay cut to be demoted from an anchor to a reporter. With 9 paying big bucks for Carrie Lazarus, I would be shocked if they found enough money to hire Jackie and room to put her on the schedule. She strikes me as the type who'd rather remain unemployed than take a pay cut and/or a demotion to field reporting.
