Syracuse's Channel 5 shuts down its newsroom

Michelle Gabel

WTVH-TV Channel 5 announced Monday that it would shut down its newsroom.

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Syracuse, NY -- WTVH-TV fired at least 40 employees this morning, dropping the bulk of its news operation that once led the Syracuse market but became a victim of low ratings and slow advertising sales.

Channel 5's owners said it was outsourcing many of its functions to Channel 3 and combining with its one-time competitor. That news was announced by the owners of both stations -- Granite Broadcasting (Channel 5) and Barrington Broadcasting (Channel 3) after noon. A similar agreement will be in place in Peoria, Ill., where each has a TV station and where Granite will supply services to Barrington's outlet.

The Channel 5 workers were given the news during a 10 a.m. meeting. They then boxed up their belongings and began filtering out.

Those in the meeting said a transition team kept their job. Michael Benny, a news anchor, would only say he was on the transition team.

Chris Geiger, president and chief executive officer of Barrington's Syracuse operation, will oversee three stations, including WSTQ-TV, Barrington's affiliate for the CW network.

He said each station will have its own managing editor. Sometimes, one reporter and one camera person will report a story for all three stations. Other times, they could send teams from each station. Weather and sports will be provided to all three stations by the same team, he said.

For a period of time, they will operate out of both companies' James Street offices. Eventually, all of the operations will move to Channel 3 headquarters, 1030 James St.

Channel 5 was Syracuse's first television station, with roots back to 1948.

Dennis Nett / The Post-Standard

Keith Kobland shows the contents of a box of personal belongings that he took from his desk at WTVH, where he was just let go this morning. He and about 40 others were laid off from their jobs. He is holding a photograph of his son Nate.

Employees were told they would receive at least 3 months' severance pay through May.

Matthew A. Rosenfeld, president and general manager, ran the meeting. He told those in the meeting that he will be taking another job with Granite outside Syracuse.

Keith Kobland, a morning anchor and producer for 20 years, said, "We report on job losses in my business every day and you always think in the back of your mind that you could be next.

"I don't know if this town has the abilty to sustain the number of news operations that we have."

WTVH-TV (Channel 5) is owned by Granite Broadcasting Corp. of New York City. The company was founded in 1988 and owns and operates 23 channels in 11 markets, including WKBW-TV (Channel 7) in Buffalo.

Granite Broadcasting was once celebrated as the largest minority-owned broadcast company in the country. But the company lost its minority ownership when it emerged from bankruptcy in 2007. Now, Silver Point Capital, a private equity fund and hedge fund investor, has become Granite's majority shareholder.

Granite bought WTVH in Syracuse from Meredith Corp. in December 1993.

Meredith had owned the station since it was first launched, in December 1948. Then, it was WHEN-TV (Channel 8).

It was Syracuse's first television station.

The station moved to Channel 5 in September 1962 and changed its call letters to WTVH in August 1976.

The station had its heyday in the 1980s, when 31 percent of households tuned in to the 6 p.m. news, the flagship show.

Among Syracuse's three stations, however, Channel 5's newscasts have ranked in last place for at least a decade. WSTM-TV (Channel 3) is No. 2.

Former Channel 5 staffers and others in Syracuse television have said the station has drained valuable experience in recent years.

The company fired 22-year anchor Maureen Green in December 2007. The station also did not renew a contract with Matt Mulcahy in 2004, after he anchored the evening news with Green for almost six years.

Many people point to the retirement of popular news anchor Ron Curtis as the end of Channel 5. Curtis retired in December 2000. In past interviews, however, former general manager Les Vann said Channel 5's decine started earlier.

Even before Curtis retired, the station suffered a decade-long revolving door of anchors, reporters and four different general managers.

There have been grumblings in the Syracuse television market for the last two decades about the city reducing its news to two stations. More and more viewers have abandoned local television news for entertainment shows, national news and the Internet.

In 1980, Syracuse television newscasts were viewed by 78 percent of Central New York households. By 2003, that number was reduced to 55 percent.