Workers at WYTV get layoff notices

Gina Marinelli and Vince Bevacqua were among those let go.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

YOUNGSTOWN — The local TV market will never be the same.

The final day for three independent news-gathering operations is Dec. 9. On the following day, the three will be squeezed down to two — and some people are being left out.

WYTV Channel 33 began paring its staff Friday, and WKBN-TV Channel 27 is expected to do the same next week.

Those two stations have become news themselves as they embark on something that has not been tried before locally — one company controlling newscasts of two stations.

Starting Dec. 10, WKBN will deliver its own newscasts and handle the production of WYTV’s newscasts.

With that kind of efficiency, jobs can be cut.

Layoffs began Friday as a significant number of WYTV workers were told they won’t be needed after Dec. 9.

The biggest names were anchors Gina Marinelli and Vince Bevacqua. They will remain behind their desks through next week, and then anchor duties for WYTV newscasts will fall to Angee Shaker, who is being retained, and perhaps others.

Other workers who were told they won’t be needed past Dec. 9 include photographers, technicians and other behind-the-scenes workers. Two WYTV reporters said they were being retained, but it wasn’t clear if all reporters would be needed.

David Coy, general manager of WKBN, said the two stations’ newscasts would have separate identities. They would have different anchors, and news reports would not be shared — at least not initially.

He and David Trabert, general manager at WYTV, wouldn’t say, however, how jobs are being cut or how many workers WKBN would need. Each station employs about 70.

Employees said they didn’t hear a total number of cuts Friday. WYTV workers learned their fate in notices that were placed with their paychecks.

The number was significant, however, said Joe Bell, a reporter and union steward at WKBN.

“It was a not a pretty scene in terms of the number of people who lost their jobs,” Bell said.

Bell is watching closely. Management posted a notice at WKBN this week that said layoffs could be announced there this coming Friday.

John Grdic, general manager of WFMJ Channel 21, questioned whether the community as a whole is being hurt. Fewer people covering local news probably isn’t a good thing, he said.

WFMJ is prepared to compete with the merged news organizations, he said.

“We have stability, and we’ll continue to do what we have to do to provide our viewers with the best in news coverage,” he said.

The merging of news operations isn’t unusual, however.

In order to cut expenses, about 90 television markets in the U.S. have some form of shared operations between stations, Coy said. There are just over 200 television markets.

The pressure for shared services in Youngstown has grown as the size of the market has declined. Youngstown has fallen to the 106th-largest market as determined by number of households with televisions.

Coy said national advertisers often choose to spend their money in the Top 50 or Top 100 markets.

He said Youngstown ranked 103rd a year ago and was 84th when he came to the station in 1982.

The shared services locally follow changes in ownership of both WKBN and WYTV earlier this year.

Parkin Broadcasting in Los Angeles acquired WYTV and then signed the shared-services agreement with WKBN’s new owner, New Vision Television of Atlanta.

Parkin is paying New Vision $750,000 a year to handle WYTV’s newscasts.

Parkin’s owner, Todd Parkin, couldn’t be reached to comment.

Senior management and advertising sales workers will remain at WYTV and are not part of the shared-services agreement.

News workers at WYTV who are being retained will report to work at WKBN starting Dec. 10.

shilling@vindy.com