Layoffs sour holiday season for Chicago journalists

The latest: Texas-based media company Nexstar cut 2% of its workforce across the country, including WGN-TV staffers. Union representatives tell Axios that around 12 positions were eliminated, mostly from non on-air staff in the newsroom.

What they're saying: "Our broadcasting and sales divisions are streamlining their organizations to reduce our operating expenses and accelerate collaboration across the company," Nexstar said in a statement. "We are committed to managing through this period of unprecedented change in the media industry."

Zoom out: Nexstar also operates the cable news station NewsNation. Even though most of the production has left for the coasts, it's unclear how many local NewsNation employees were affected..

• Nexstar would not comment on specific cuts.

Zoom in: On Wednesday, CHGO, the Chicago sports startup owned by AllCity Network, announced it cut eight staffers, including Bears beat reporter Nicholas Moreano. The layoffs come as the company is using audience data to reevaluate what sports it covers. CHGO features a mix of videos, articles and live podcasts on most local sports teams.

• "As much as we would like to cover all sports in the exact same manner, the reality is that certain sports command a different scale of audience and advertiser interest at the local level and we're moving our resources to better align with that," AllCity's Brandon Spano said in a statement.

🏈 Musical chairs: Since Leila Rahimi's sudden departure from NBC 5, the station has been using a rotation of anchors to spell top sports anchor Mike Berman. This includes two Telemundo anchors, Raul Delgado and Hector Lozano.

• NBC 5 says the search for a permanent sports anchor is underway.

📞 Longtime listener, first-time caller: It wasn't a layoff, but WVON-AM host Perri Small recently ended her run at the historic Chicago radio station. The veteran broadcaster retired after hosting call-in talk shows for 30+ years.

🎧 End of a (podcast) era: It's not just mainstream media cutting back or ending broadcasts. Political strategist David Axelrod announced he has ended his popular "Axe Files" podcast to focus on other projects.

• "Even without 'The Axe Files,' let us continue to be seekers of each other's stories and penetrate the godawful silos that drive us apart," Axelrod, founder of the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics, said during his last episode. His final guest: Rahm Emanuel.

🤣 Who needs a radio station, anyway? Morning radio host Steve Cochran was removed from WLS-AM earlier this year, but that's not stopping him from staying active on stage.

• Besides his podcast, Cochran is gathering his favorite personalities for his annual New Year's Eve comedy show. There is an early version at the Raue Center in Crystal Lake and an evening show at the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove.
• Cochran tells Axios it's likely his last New Year's Eve shows, "unless the couple planning the wedding for next NYE breaks up before then."