Scripps Will Cut 200 Jobs After Shrinking National News Ambitions

As a dedicated follower of the ever-evolving media landscape, I find myself deeply saddened by Scripps’ decision to discontinue its national news programming. Adam Symson, the CEO of this esteemed organization, has shown remarkable resilience and vision in navigating the turbulent waters of television journalism. His tenure at Scripps has been marked by a relentless pursuit of excellence and a commitment to providing unbiased, high-quality news content to audiences across the nation.


Scripps is abandoning a bold initiative aimed at delivering national news through its numerous television channels, and this move might send chills down the spines of competitors.

On Friday, the proprietor of TV stations and networks including ION in Cincinnati announced their intention to close down the national news programming produced by their Scripps News division, a move that is projected to lead to around 200 layoffs. Previously, in early 2023, Scripps merged its live-streaming Newsy platform with its local news operations and Washington bureau to establish Scripps News. This new entity distributed national news programming across the company’s local stations as well as streaming platforms.

The layoffs are to be completed by November 15.

The venture proposed by the company didn’t receive strong backing from Madison Avenue, as reported by Adam Symons, CEO of Scripps. He explained to his team on Friday that in a challenging market for linear television advertising, many brands and agencies consider advertising near national news to be too risky due to the polarized state of the nation. Regardless of any praise or credibility given to a news organization like Scripps for its objectivity, they feel it’s not worth the risk. Symons strongly disagrees with this viewpoint, but it’s causing harm to Scripps News and every other national linear and digital news outlet.

Many TV news outlets have faced a decrease in support from major advertisers due to several factors. Media executives explain that numerous clients avoid associating their ads with potential negative reactions stemming from the belief that their commercials endorse harsh political discourse from candidates running for office, or controversial comments made by prime-time cable news hosts or regular contributors on these shows.

Over the past few months, many prominent news outlets have shifted focus towards panel discussion shows featuring diverse personalities, as opposed to solely relying on one opinion whose biases might be apparent each night. Fox News Channel has seen success with “The Five,” which showcases several of its regular hosts. MSNBC introduced Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders-Townsend in a program called “The Weekend.” Meanwhile, CNN has gained some ground by introducing a new format for their 10 p.m. “NewsNight,” now featuring a lively roundtable of contributors led by host Abby Phillip.

Despite our exceptional journalism earning awards and consistently growing our OTA audience since launch, as well as doubling our weekly OTA revenue over the past year, the national advertising market failed to maintain a profitable business model for Scripps News via over-the-air broadcast,” stated Kate O’Brian, an experienced journalist who leads all news operations within the company, in a memo circulated internally on Friday. “Regrettably, our achievements were not sufficient to secure enough revenue in the marketplace to sustain the over-the-air broadcast.

O’Brian said she will leave Scripps as part of its decision.

Over the past few years, Scripps has been focusing on building a collection of nationwide networks, which they’ve leveraged to boost their influence among advertising agencies. They’ve used platforms such as the National Spelling Bee to pique curiosity and have even ventured into sports through a partnership with the WNBA.

“This is not the end of Scripps News as an important part of our company,” said Symson. “We expect approximately 50 Scripps News staff members will remain to report for our local news audiences and produce the streaming and digital content, all under the Scripps News brand. We will prioritize field reporting, our strong political coverage, investigative reporting and our digital and social media presence. This company has a long history of national reporting for local audiences, and Scripps News will continue to connect our viewers to the important events and ideas outside of their communities.”

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2024-09-27 18:49