E.W. Scripps has started laying off employees at a number of its local TV stations this week, adding to a growing list of media jobs that have been cut in 2025.
The exact number of people being laid off is unclear. A rep for Scripps did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Scripps owns 61 stations in 41 markets and is one of the largest local TV station operators in the country. In 2023, the last time for which full-year data is available, Scripps was ranked ninth overall among national TV operators in terms of annual revenue, with $1.38 billion.
A person familiar with Scripps told TheWrap that some employees were notified of the layoffs on Monday.
The layoffs at Scripps come a month after Tegna announced it would be cutting jobs and, at the end of 2024, both Nexstar and Gray Television announced layoffs as well; Scripps’ layoffs also follow the company’s decision to cut more than 200 jobs and wind down its national news programming in September; the national news network ended its over-the-air broadcasts in Nov., but remains on major streaming and connected TV platforms.
More details about the layoffs could be shared next week, when Scripps reports its fourth quarter earnings on March 11.
These new layoffs add to a brutal start to the year for the media industry. Indiewire let go of three top editors last month, Forbes cut 5% of its staff in late January and Vox was recently hit by its third round of job cuts in just two months; The Washington Post and the Huffington Post also laid off employees last month.
This recent stretch follows an ugly 2024 in which nearly 15,000 media jobs were eliminated.
