After Nexstar Media Group announced layoffs at KTLA-TV this week, some viewers expressed shock and dismay over the loss of several longtime local journalists at the station.
The cuts included KTLA meteorologist Mark Kriski, meteorologist Kacey Montoya, midday anchors Lu Parker and Glen Walker and reporter Ellina Abovian. The layoffs come as Nexstar tries to cut costs and seeks to merge with rival media company Tegna.
Abovian, who was a general assignment reporter at the station, reflected on the layoffs on social media, saying in a video posted to Threads on Thursday that she was “surprised” and that the cuts were “part of corporate restructuring.”
“Corporate layoffs are a part of life and this is just the game of life. They are impacting people in multiple industries right now, so I'm not the only one, and my situation is certainly not unique,” said Abovian, who worked at the station for more than a decade. “But it's hard to process, considering how it happened.”
Some viewers and fellow journalists also expressed disappointment.
CNN anchor Elex Michaelson responded on
Each of the fired journalists had been at the station for several years. Kriski had been at KTLA since 1991 and Walker sat at the station's anchor desk since 2010. Parker joined KTLA in 2005.
KTLA morning news anchor Frank Buckley addressed the situation before continuing the broadcast Thursday.
“As you probably know, we are extremely limited in what we can say,” Buckley said. “But if you're a regular viewer of this show and this television station, you also know that we're a family here. We consider you part of that family. And when family members go through tough times, we all feel it. So this is a tough time for us. And we'll get through it together.”
SAG-AFTRA, which represents the laid-off journalists, issued a statement Wednesday condemning the cuts. The guild revealed that it is “actively negotiating with Nexstar stations in multiple markets.” It accused Nexstar of pushing “to eliminate severance pay and insert onerous provisions into the union contract that limit workers' ability to freely negotiate the terms of their own employment.”
“By laying off journalists across the country, Nexstar is eroding the resources and talent that local communities depend on for trusted news,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said in the statement. “These actions highlight the risks of media consolidation and underscore the urgent need for regulators and the enterprise to prioritize the public interest and the professionals who serve it.”
Nexstar operates 201 stations in 116 local markets in the US, reaching 70% of US households. It is the largest television station ownership group in the US. Tegna owns television stations in 51 US markets. Following the pending $6.2 billion merger, the permanent company will have 265 stations, representing 80% of television households in the United States.
President Trump expressed his support for the deal in a social media post earlier this month.
He wrote: “Letting good deals be made like Nexstar: Tegna will help eliminate fake news because there will be more competition and at a higher, more sophisticated level. Those who oppose it don't fully understand how good the concept of this deal is for them, but they will understand in the future.”
