Allen Media Makes Cuts at Wisconsin Stations

Keith Edwards who has worked at Eu Clair, Wisconsin ABC affiliate WQOW since 1981 is one of many staffers who have reportedly “vanished from the station this week,” according to Volumeone.org.

The biographies of WQOW of at least half a dozen staffers have been scrubbed from the station website.

WQOW and its La Crosse-based sister station WXOW have been owned by Allen Media Group since 2021.

Allen Media Group owns 36 broadcast TV stations. According to a November 25 Deadline.com report, Allen Media Group was undertaking “extensive cost-cutting measures” by shuttering a number of media holdings, such as The Weather Channel en Español. The company also went through layoffs in October and May.

Allen Media owns WKOW in Madison, WAOW in Wausau, WXOW in La Crosse, and WQOW in Eau Claire, all ABC stations.

One reddit user talked about the cuts:

WKOW lost about a quarter of the newsroom in April. This summer, Allen decided that all 4 stations only needed a single General Manager.

Now, they are operating with local A blocks at AO/QO/XO, but the B block is out of Madison. Imagine you are watching the news as you always have, and when it comes back from commercial, you see different anchors at a different set. Meanwhile the local anchors just sit there and wait for the wrap.

On top of this, weekend shows at AO/QO/XO have been eliminated, with KO’s newscast airing on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

The new format began on Monday. Tuesday morning, cuts began. Assignment editors, producers, DCMs, production, and even anchors getting the axe. Specifically at AO, XO, and QO, Allen let go of the legacy anchors who had decades of time logged behind the desk. People who were choosing not to retire because they loved what they do. People who should have been celebrated for a week leading up to their departure. Instead, the stations and their employees are not allowed to tell viewers why the anchors are suddenly gone. Those anchors who gave their lives to their stations had no idea Monday night was their last show ever.

News Directors are now being told to produce multiple shows, do web, and assignments on top of all their other work.

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Allen Media Makes Cuts at Wisconsin Stations

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