Scripps is Cutting My (The FTVLive Guy) Job... Again

The budget-slashing axes are swinging hard at Scripps, and once again, WKBW in Buffalo is taking a massive hit.

Eight staffers at the struggling Scripps station will be out of a job come September 1 as part of the company's massive nationwide reorganization. Nationwide, Scripps is wiping out 268 jobs across its local television stations and operations as it pivots toward 24/7 digital and streaming news models, centralizes digital hubs, and leans heavily into AI and workflow automation.

Among the high-profile casualties on the air in Buffalo is anchor Pheben Kassahun.

Behind the scenes, the cuts are crippling. WKBW is laying off its assistant news director, three directors, an executive producer of digital news, a producer, and an executive producer.

That last cut hits a little close to home for FTVLive.

Back in the early 2000s, I was an Executive Producer at WKBW when I was handed my walking papers as part of corporate budget cuts.

Now, a quarter-century later, Scripps is running the exact same playbook in the Queen City—slashing the Executive Producer position yet again to save a buck.

Different decade, same corporate suits, same cuts.