Job cuts at KADN this week were part of about 150 that were let go across the company, reports indicate.
The 19 employees let go at the Lafayette station on Tuesday were apparently the largest cut among all the Allen Media Group properties, a source indicated, as the industry continues to struggle with declining ad revenue.
The media watchdog website FTVLive reported layoffs at some other properties were 10 or less, with the station in Harrisburg, Illinois letting go of 10 people. Other stations had fewer cuts, but some included more management-type positions.
An Iowa station cut a traffic assistant, a business manager, a creative services producer and the community affairs director, the site reported. More cuts may follow at other properties as contracts come up for renewal.
The cuts in Lafayette included the faces of its morning show, "Good Day Acadiana" — reporter Al Hebert, co-anchors Alex Worstell and Scott Brazda and meteorologist Adam Olivier. Cuts were also in other departments within the station.
KADN will trim its staff and time slot for its morning show starting next week and stop its noon newcast. The morning show, which had aired from 5-9 a.m. on weekdays, will start at 6:30 a.m. starting next week.
On Thursday, noon news anchor Taylor Trache thanked viewers in a Facebook post and noted she will be co-anchoring the station’s 9 p.m. broadcast.
“Thank you to everyone who tuned in over the last seven years and helped me make that show what it was,” Trache wrote. “When it started seven years ago, it was only 30 minutes and quickly grew into an hour. It was so special and we couldn’t do what we did without our incredible guests and you, the viewer.”
Employees went public with the station's moves on Wednesday. KADN, which made a splash last fall when it hired longtime KATC anchors Marcelle Fontenot and Jim Hummel, reported ratings and revenue were up earlier this year.
It also won Best Newscast award by the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters earlier this year.
"We are blown away by the overwhelming outpouring of support from viewers," Hebert said. "We didn't expect that, but we are humbled by it."
The cuts, reports indicate, are a result of Allen Media Group asking stations to cut $1 million from their budgets. A New York Post report in May noted Allen Media would shed 300 employees — about 12% of its workforce — across its operating divisions.
Allen Media Group stations and others across the country have faced declining ad revenue this year, according to a survey from RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Only 52% of stations surveyed indicated they were profitable, down from 61% in 2015 and 72% in 1996.
Scripps, which owns KATC in Lafayette, announced last month it would cut 200 jobs in its move to shut down its national Scripps News operation, which distributed national news programming to its local stations and streaming outlets, reports indicated.
Allen Media stations have also been behind on payments to major networks ABC, CBS and NBC, according to a report from CNBC in August. Some were as much as over 90 days past due.
Allen Media Group, which is led by comedian Byron Allen and has 27 stations in 21 markets, bought the Lafayette station in 2019.
