December layoffs affect Wisconsin TV news stations

Several longtime journalists at Wisconsin television stations were let go in December in La Crosse, Eau Claire and Wausau.

The stations have been owned by Allen Media Group since 2021, which has implemented recent layoffs company-wide.

The Madison affiliate WKOW went through a similar round of layoffs several months ago. WXOW in La Crosse, WQOW in Eau Claire and WAOW in Wausau were affected by the cuts in early December.

Many of those who were let go had decades of experience covering news in their communities.

Allen Media Group didn’t respond to a request for an interview or provide a statement to explain the layoffs.

Since the layoffs, most newscasts have been a combination of local news from the affected communities with a later news segment originating from Madison.

John Laabs is the former president and CEO of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association. He said the changes are part of a media landscape that’s been in flux for the past 25 years.

“It’s going to take some getting used to for the audiences,” said Laabs, a Wausau native who got his start in broadcasting at WAOW in the early 1970s.

“If you start out your news block with local and you’ve got some commercials and then you switch and it’s different anchors, that doesn’t feel good today, it feels less bad next week and by February that person coming from the Madison desk is somebody you remember.”

Laabs said he trusts the stations to maintain their emphasis on local news while technology in the industry allows them to share resources.

 LeaderEthics is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit committed to strengthening democracy through ethical leadership. One of its tenants is ensuring that people are consuming accurate news coverage.

“We will have places in states like Wisconsin that you’re going to have a news desert or a situation where you are unable to cover local stories and even have other players coming in from the outside acting as if they are covering those local stories,” executive director Lee Rasch said.

He said LeaderEthics has found local news coverage is an effective tool to counter misinformation and just by covering a story, local media is saying it’s an important issue the community needs to pay attention to. Putting a spotlight on a local issue can also force local governments to pay attention to issues it’s involved with, Rasch said.

Recent national studies have found changes in the way people get and consume local news, with fewer people turning to daily newspapers and more people relying on friends, family and neighbors to stay informed.

Laabs said he trusts Allen Media Group will remain committed to local news in the communities where it owns stations.

”There’s some opportunity here for the network to really do a good job. I’m convinced that they’ll take advantage of it” Laabs said. “But it’s going to take some getting used to by the viewing public.”