Scripps lays off staff at local stations

• Tegna laid off members from its fact-checking team in February.
• Nexstar said it would lay off 2% of staffers in December.
• Gray Television announced cuts amid a restructuring in November.

Zoom in: The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company operates 61 stations in 41 markets, including KMGH in Denver, WXYZ in Detroit and WTVF in Nashville.

• The company informed some local station employees Monday of newsroom layoffs and said that it would not fill any open positions, a source familiar with the cuts told Axios.
• Local station groups will determine how they wish to implement the layoffs, they noted.
• A Scripps spokesperson said the cuts affected about a dozen stations. "The media industry is in a state of continued disruption and, while difficult, these changes are part of Scripps' ongoing commitment to adapt through this disruption and ensure we can continue providing our communities with essential services well into the future," the spokesperson said.

Zoom out: Scripps cited active refinancing negotiations, including its term loan and revolving credit facility, when it delayed its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report on Feb. 27.

• The company previously said it paid down $115 million of debt during the third quarter of 2024 and expected to pay down $300 million in total for the year.

• Scripps CEO Adam Symson announced in September that the company was shuttering its 24/7, national, over-the-air broadcast news channel and cutting about 200 staffers. He cited financial challenges stemming from brands and agencies not wanting to advertise around national news.

What we're watching: Scripps said it will release its next earnings report on March 11.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to add a statement from Scripps.