Layoffs Hit Cleveland's WOIO-TV and WUAB-TV

 

CLEVELAND, OH (December 9, 2008) – About 14 people found out today that their jobs were being eliminated at Raycom Media-owned sister stations WOIO-TV and WUAB-TV in Cleveland, including photographers, production staff, and on-air talent.

WOIO-TV director of news operations Kim Fatica, one of those let go, said "Today was a big day at 19 Action News ... about 14 people let go, including myself." Fatica was on a conference all about setting up future technology when he was summoned to a manager's office to get the news.

"You could see this was coming for a couple of months," Fatica told News Photographer magazine tonight. "But I didn't know it was going to be today." Some staff members had wondered if layoffs were coming soon when the annual staff holiday party was cancelled.

Morning co-anchor Jeff Eliasoph was among those cut. His contract expired in October but the station had retained him hoping that the economy would improve.

Also let go in the cutbacks were a general assignment reporter, a traffic reporter, a full-time director, two part-time producers, and a full-time assignment editor. In addition, a full-time reporter was placed on part-time status. Fatica was the only manager cut, and he did not have a contract with the station.

Tuesday night after the 6 p.m. newscast, two full-time second shift editors were told their jobs are now part-time positions, and one full-time editor was cut and a full-time videographer was made part-time.

WOIO-TV and WUAB-TV have a joint newsroom and before the layoffs there were about 25 reporters and an equal number of production and photography staff members behind the scenes.

"We were a small news operation," Fatica said, "one of the smallest in the region."

Other TV stations in Cleveland have already had layoffs this year, including WJW-TV and WKYC-TV (Fatica's former employer), and the newsroom staff is also being reduced at the city's newspaper, the Plain Dealer. The ongoing decline in advertising revenue and the worsening economy have forced newspaper publishers and television broadcasters to make drastic personnel cuts during the second half of this year.

 

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