Scripps cuts 8 jobs at WKBW Buffalo as local TV faces 60%+ pay-TV decline

For HR leaders in media, the Scripps layoffs in Buffalo are a textbook case of structural workforce contraction. When 8 positions—including a visible news anchor—are cut from a station already losing a veteran co-anchor to a non-media role, the immediate challenge is managing survivor engagement and preserving newsroom continuity. The broader context: local TV employment has shrunk by 12% since 2020, and stations like WKBW must now do more with fewer, testing the limits of multi-platform staffing models.

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is executing a round of nationwide layoffs that has struck its Buffalo station, WKBW (Channel 7), with the elimination of 8 positions. The cuts, disclosed on August 8, 2026, and effective at the end of the month, come as local television broadcasters grapple with accelerating cord-cutting, soft advertising revenue, and the costly transition to digital-first news operations. News anchor Pheben Kassahun is among those departing, and the move follows the voluntary exit of morning co-anchor Katie Morse, who will leave on August 14 to become VP of Marketing and Communications at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. While the company has not released a total figure for the layoffs, the Buffalo reductions are part of a broader corporate restructuring aimed at reducing costs amid a challenged media landscape.

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The stock, trading around $7.50 in early August 2026, is down from its 2023 highs near $30, reflecting persistent investor concerns about its debt load (~$3.4 billion as of Q2 2026) and the ongoing integration of the 2021 ION Media acquisition.

For E.W. Scripps, which operates 61 television stations in 41 markets and reaches nearly 18% of U.S. TV households, the layoffs signal a pivot to leaner newsroom models. The company's core business of local broadcast TV is under pressure: retransmission consent fees are plateauing as pay-TV subscribers decline, and political ad spending — a traditional windfall in even-numbered years — is becoming less predictable as campaigns shift budgets to digital. Scripps' own digital revenue (which includes national news network Newsy, now defunct, and streaming service Scripps News) has failed to offset linear TV declines. The Buffalo layoffs illustrate the human cost of these structural shifts, as experienced on-air talent with community knowledge is replaced by multi-platform journalists expected to produce content across broadcast, web, and social channels.

From a market perspective, the layoffs are being implemented despite Scripps' modest share price recovery in recent months. The stock, trading around $7.50 in early August 2026, is down from its 2023 highs near $30, reflecting persistent investor concerns about its debt load (~$3.4 billion as of Q2 2026) and the ongoing integration of the 2021 ION Media acquisition. Analyst consensus leans cautious, with a median target of $10.00. The Buffalo cuts, while small in dollar terms (likely saving under $500,000 annually in a station with an estimated 50–60 employees), are emblematic of the industry's reliance on headcount reductions to meet margin targets. Notably, the loss of Kassahun, a newer on-air face, and the earlier departure of Morse to a non-media role suggests that even stable local stations are experiencing talent churn that could impact viewership and community trust.