A new owner means changes at WYTV

YOUNGSTOWN — For employees of WYTV, it doesn’t matter to the television station’s new owner if they’ve been there 30 minutes or 30 years.

In a Wednesday letter, Todd Parkin, chief executive officer of Parkin Broadcasting of Youngstown LLC, the station’s new owner, wrote to union employees that they can remain at WYTV, the local ABC TV affiliate, but didn’t give a time frame. To stay at the station, they must agree to give up their seniority and to be placed on a 90-day probationary period.

The letter states most WYTV workers will keep their jobs even though Parkin is entering into a $750,000 annual agreement to share services, including news production, with New Vision Television, which owns WKBN, the local CBS TV affiliate.

“We anticipate NVT will be handling news production, and they will offer employment to most of our employees,” Parkin wrote. “Most employees who are not hired by NVT will be offered a severance plan.”

Parkin’s letter states the specifics of the agreement will be worked within six months.