PROVIDENCE — Channel 12 was hit with layoffs last week as its parent company – Texas-based Nexstar Media – moved to cut 2 percent of its workforce across the country.
The local cuts, which were in the high-single digits of employees, include at least one reporter, some sales staff, and several part-time employees.
The station is also putting “Dan Yorke State of Mind” – a weekly public affairs show hosted by the WPRO radio host – on hiatus after laying off the show’s producer. There’s a chance the show will return in some form next year.
”Our broadcasting and sales divisions are streamlining their organizations to reduce our operating expenses and accelerate collaboration across the company,” Nexstar spokesman Gary Weitman said in a statement. “While it is difficult to make these sorts of changes, they will impact less than 2 percent of our workforce and allow us to focus on areas of growth for our viewers, partners, and customers. We are committed to managing through this period of unprecedented change in the media industry so that Nexstar continues to thrive for years to come.”
What wasn’t said: What Weitman failed to mention in his statement was that Nexstar Chairman and CEO Perry Sook bragged to investors last month that Nexstar “delivered the highest third quarter net revenue in the company’s history.”
Behind the scenes: The Channel 12 layoffs were announced last Wednesday, and the company also abruptly canceled its Christmas party that was scheduled for yesterday afternoon at the Narragansett Brewery.
During an all-staff meeting on Friday, general manager Pat Wholey acknowledged the station has had a “challenging” end to the year on the revenue side, but expressed confidence that his team has put together a plan that will cause the company minimal disruption in its on-air product.The layoffs at Channel 12 are unrelated to an unionization effort at the company that appears to have fizzled in recent months.
Disclosure: Channel 12 and Globe Rhode Island recently entered into a partnership that includes several on-air appearances each week with Globe reporters. Money doesn’t change hands as part of the deal, and the partnership will continue.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.
