Most of my journalism career has been community-based, covering high school sports, local elections, school boards and crime.
There’s something special about providing news that fosters a special closeness between a journalist and their readers and audience.
It’s no surprise that newspapers have been struggling. Research papers and think pieces have been documenting the decline of print media for decades.
The one refuge amid that struggle has been local television news, which has seen small dips but whose viewership has remained “relatively stable,” according to Pew Research in 2023.
That, however, is sadly changing.
My colleagues Stephen Battaglio and Cerys Davies wrote about the struggles of local TV news, highlighted by surprising layoffs at KTLA-TV.
Let’s dive into their reporting.
“Totally blindsided”
Ellina Abovian, a veteran correspondent for KTLA, was recently covering a story when she was asked to see her boss at the station.
There, she was told she would be losing her job after 11 years.
“I was totally blindsided,” said Abovian, 40. “There was no indication.”
The Glendale native was among several longtime KTLA personalities who where laid off amid a wave of cuts at outlets owned by Nexstar Media Group in Los Angeles and other cities. They included midday anchors Glen Walker and Lu Parker, along with veteran meteorologist Mark Kriski, who first joined the station in 1991.
Changing consumer appetites
Once the primary source of community news and information, local TV news stations are struggling with their own tough story, one marked by declining ratings, stagnant revenue growth and rapid shifts in how media is consumed in the internet era.
More than 2,000 TV stations nationwide still play a vital role in communities, delivering as much as 12 hours a day in programming, live sports and local news to every household in the U.S. But they are now faced with an aging audience.
Streaming — which now accounts for more than 40% of all viewing — has also pulled consumers away from traditional TV.
Shrinking ad revenue
A recent S&P Global report estimated local ad revenue for TV stations will grow at just 1.5% annually over the next five years, below the rate of inflation, hitting a peak of $25.58 billion in the election year of 2028 and dropping to $22.11 billion in 2029.
Since 2000, TV stations have seen their take of ad dollars decline by an inflation-adjusted 36%, according to BIA Advisory Services.
The dollars that TV station owners receive from cable and satellite operators for carrying their signals are expected to stagnate as the number of pay-TV subscribers dwindles.
Consolidation nation
Irving, Texas-based Nexstar and its 164 outlets posted a net loss of $170 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The company has closed a $6.2-billion deal to merge with another large station group, Tegna, and has told financial analysts that it expects to see $300 million in savings with the combined companies. That probably means layoffs.
Searching for solutions
Fox Television Stations have been experimenting on their streaming platform to develop leaner, less-expensively produced news shows that are less dependent on slick sets and highly paid anchors. If they can draw a sizable audience on streaming, the plan is to put them on traditional TV as well.
Scripps cut ties with several big-name anchors at its stations several years ago to invest in more on-the-ground reporting.
Meanwhile, journalists with years of exposure with local audiences on TV are using that equity to launch their own digital platforms.
After moving on from KTLA, Abovian is focusing on her podcast, “Breaking Through, The Ellina Abovian Podcast,” where she discusses “the unpretty pivots in life.”
“Local news will always be very important,” Abovian said. “However, the delivery and the way the industry takes form are changing. It’s up to all of us to realize what our niche is, what our voices are and how we can continue to be storytellers, just in a different format.”
For more, check out the full story here.
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