KLAS news director, 17 others out in new round of layoffs

Eighteen employees, including news director Ron Comings, were laid off from KLAS-TV, Channel 8, on Tuesday in the latest shake-up since Nexstar Broadcasting Group took control of the station in February.

On April 1, “a similar number” of employees were laid off, said Ken Smith, the helicopter reporter who himself was let go in February after eight years with the station. KLAS General Manager Emily Neilson announced in April that she will retire once her replacement can be found.

Brian Jones, Nexstar’s executive vice president and co-chief operating officer, wouldn’t discuss the numbers involved in Tuesday’s cuts.

“I can confirm that we conducted a reduction in force here at the station,” Jones said. “This was a plan in order to get the staffing level of the station more in keeping with similarly sized markets that we own and operate.”

No on-air personnel were cut Tuesday, Jones said. There was report Wednesday that a reporter and videographer were going to be let go, but their jobs were spared when another reporter and videographer announced they had accepted other positions.

Like the April losses, most of Tuesday’s cuts were in the business office. Those duties, Jones said, will be relocated to a Nexstar regional hub in Salt Lake City.

Tuesday’s other casualties were focused on the digital side. Barrett Tryon, the station’s social media manager, confirmed that he was among those cut. The station’s digital platforms will be absorbed by a Nexstar subsidiary, Jones said.

Before Nexstar purchased the station for $145 million in a deal that closed Feb. 13, Channel 8 was the sole TV station in the portfolio of Landmark Media Enterprises. But with Nexstar operating 107 stations in 58 markets, some of the lost jobs were considered redundant.

“Now, we can bring the resources of the company to bear on that,” Jones said of the online positions, “and it’s not necessary to have a digital department servicing a digital platform locally.”

Comings will be replaced, Jones said, but he wouldn’t talk about the reasons for the dismissal or what the company wants in a successor. Comings had been Channel 8’s news director since leaving Hawaii’s KHON-TV in March 2006. He couldn’t be reached for comment.

LAS VEGAS REVIEP-JOURNAL

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