8 Current Former employees who spoke to the Globe cited a confluence of factors that led to the layoffs, including issues with the quality of the network’s content, heavy workloads, pay cuts and layoffs. and uncertainty about whether the private equity owners will continue in the business. Most spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
“It wasn’t a very good atmosphere,” said former news anchor David Rothstein. The editor-in-chief of Boston 25, who was fired in 2021. “I thought about quitting every day.”
Current and former employees say they feel the recent departures are more pronounced than in years past, leaving stations severely understaffed and leaving employees with more responsibilities.
“We’re really short-staffed,” said a reporter for the Dedham-based station. “It’s like we’re going into battle every day understaffed.”
Boston 25 ranked second in at least one category among Boston’s top five television news stations. evaluation January 2020 CategoriesIn recent years, they have struggled to break out of the middle and lower classes. Boston is crowded, but it still attracts staff who want to work in a top 10 market.
It’s an example of how the audience and ambitions of local TV news have shrunk in the digital age, as viewers turn to social media, streaming services and other options and as the advertising revenue that helps pay for news coverage has shrunk.
In a statement, Boston 25 said it was proud of its team’s work and that the Massachusetts Broadcasting Corporation had endorsed the station. 2023 State Broadcaster of the Year.
“It’s no secret that industry disruption has put pressure on local television stations, and we are positioning ourselves to operate more efficiently as the station of the future,” the statement said. “We remain committed to providing important news, weather and groundbreaking journalism to keep our viewers informed, safe and protected, and to fostering a positive and supportive work environment for our valued employees.”
The ratings decline is hurting all networks, but some are hit harder than others, said Matt Ellis, former news director of WBZ-TV (Channel 4) in Boston and WPRI-TV in Providence.
“Is what’s happening with Channel 25 a sign that all broadcasters can’t survive and do the same thing the way they’ve always done it? Yes, I think so,” said Ellis, who now runs a public relations firm.
Two former Boston 25 employees and a current reporter said cost-cutting and increased workload have affected the quality of the network’s programming.
For example, the station did not send staff to cover the Celtics’ away playoff games until Game 4 of the NBA Finals, a current reporter said, which was different from other stations in Boston. Wikipedia, WHDH and Wikipedia.
And for years, Boston 25 didn’t have a helicopter that local stations could send out to cover breaking news and provide different perspectives for live coverage, hampering their ability to cover fires, shootings and other breaking news, three former reporters for the network said.
Boston 25, formerly owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Traded to Cox Media Group was founded in 2014. The company abandoned the Fox 25 name that had been in use for decades. It was founded in 2017 to differentiate itself from sensationalist Fox News and boost low ratings.
Boston 25 changed hands again in 2019, when Cox’s parent company Sold The company sold its radio, television and advertising businesses (which will remain called Cox Media Group) to private equity giant Apollo Global Management. Three years later, hedge fund Standard General A contract was signed An attempt to acquire the Boston 25 failed after a year.
Current and former employees have criticized Apollo’s continued ownership for cost-cutting measures, including slashing anchors’ pay, and for being slow to replace workers who have left. Apollo-owner Cox Media Group has also laid off staff at other stations this year.
“They’re not a company with a rich history of journalism,” Rothstein said of Apollo. “They’re an investor.”
A spokesman for Cox Media Group did not respond to a request for detailed comment. A spokesman for Apollo declined to comment.
Boston 25 has laid off more than a dozen employees and canceled several news shows in 2021, the Boston Business Journal reported. report The agency also laid off some employees in late June, according to two former employees.
Cutbacks and general instability Concerns about the department’s future have led to employees leaving in recent months, current and former employees said.
These challenges come at a time when news organizations across the media landscape are struggling, especially at the local level. Television news remains one of the primary sources of local news. A recent Pew Research Center survey found, However, viewership has been declining since 2018.
“It’s worrying to see even a part of the local TV infrastructure decline,” said Dan Kennedy, a journalism professor at Northeastern University.
Among those who have left Boston 25 in recent months are Hopkins, Welch, consumer reporter Jason Law and news director Sarah Burgess.
of The exit is rest Six employees who have left in recent years said staffers had to take on a lot of extra work. For example, Rothstein said there was a time when he was the only editor working the assignments desk, which monitors potential stories and assigns staff to them. Previously, he had two or three other colleagues on the desk.
“You can’t do 500 things and have them all work,” Rothstein says.
Former employees also said there were barely enough on-air journalists left to cover the shows. The Boston-based station’s 20 anchors and reporters In 2020, it was 39.According to a list posted on the department’s website, There are currently job listings at the station The company is hiring for roles such as anchor/reporter, multiplatform producer and digital media director. It is also hiring freelancers to fill gaps created by departing anchors and reporters.
Boston 25 is considering expanding its news programming to more times of the day as a cost-saving measure, one current journalist said. Adding more news programming is typically cheaper than paying to syndicate content from other networks, such as “TMZ Live” and “Divorce Court,” which will air after Boston 25’s weekday morning show this month. That could help the network cut costs, but it could also put additional strain on employees.
The staff departures and programming challenges come as Boston 25 remains close. The network ranked in the middle or bottom of key ratings metrics in May and June, according to Nielsen data obtained by the Globe: It ranked third among Boston’s five TV news stations in weekday mornings in total viewership, which includes live broadcasts and digital viewing, while it ranked fourth in its evening timeslots in both May and June.
But among viewers ages 25 to 54, a demographic important to advertisers, Boston 25 ranked last for its two shows that start at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.
One former employee said the push for ratings had forced the investigative team to churn out stories at a pace that prevented it from conducting high-quality, long-form investigations.
People who worked at Boston 25 want the station to survive, but they’re worried about signs pointing in the wrong direction.
“This is a crucial moment for the future of the station,” added one current journalist.
Contact Aidan Ryan at contact addressFollow him Aidan FitzRyan.
