After Nexstar Media Group announced layoffs at KTLA this week, some viewers have expressed shock and dismay over losing several longtime local broadcast journalists at the station.
The cuts, announced earlier this week, included KTLA weatherman Mark Kriski, weathercaster Kacey Montoya, midday anchors Lu Parker and Glen Walker and reporter Ellina Abovian. The layoffs come as Nexstar attempts to cut costs and pursues a merger 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 “blindsided,” 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’re impacting people across multiple industries right now, so I’m not the only one, and my situation certainly isn’t 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 have also expressed their disappointment.
CNN anchor Elex Michaelson responded on X, writing, “Mark Kriski is an L.A. broadcasting icon. As a kid, the OG KTLA Morning News crew (Carlos, Barbara, Mark, Sam, Eric, Gayle, etc) inspired me to want to be a journalist. I have great respect for Glen, Lu, Kacey, and Elina as well … all great people … and talented broadcasters.”
Each of the laid-off journalists had been with the station for a number of years. Kriski had been with KTLA since 1991, while 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 on with the broadcast Thursday.
“As you probably know, we are extremely limited in what we can say,” Buckley said. “But if you are a regular viewer of this program and of this TV station, you also know that we are a family here. We consider you to be part of that family. And when family members experience tough times, we all feel it. So this is a difficult time for us. And we will go through it together.”
SAG-AFTRA, which represents the laid-off journalists, issued a release on Wednesday condemning the cuts. The guild disclosed that they are “actively bargaining with Nexstar stations in multiple markets.” It accused Nexstar of pushing “to gut 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 rely on for trusted news,” said SAG-AFTRA’s President Sean Astin in the release. “These actions highlight the risks of media consolidation and underscore the urgent need for regulators and the company 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 American households. It is the largest TV station ownership group in the U.S. Tegna owns television stations in 51 U.S. markets. Following the pending $6.2 billion merger, the standing company will have 265 stations, representing 80% of U.S. TV households.
President Trump has expressed his support for the deal in a social media post earlier this month.
He wrote, “Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar – Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level. Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future.”
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