KION TV abruptly shut down its news department this week after 56 years on the air.
According to Managing Editor and Anchor Jeanette Bent, the news team had just wrapped up their morning editorial meeting, Tuesday, when corporate executives gave them the news.
“We’ve been cleaning out our desks since,” she said.
The executives did not give a specific reason for the closure, but suggested it was a financial decision.
“We have such a talented group of people here,” said Bent, adding about 20 people were affected. “And I have faith that these people are going to go off and do good things.”
The closure also affects Telemundo 23.
St. Joseph, Mo.-based News-Press & Gazette Company, which owns KION, did not return a request for comment.
On its website, KION said it is partnering with KPIX CBS San Francisco to bring news coverage to the Central Coast.
Starting Tuesday at 5pm.
“CBS Bay Area is proud to serve viewers who call the Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz communities home, by telling their stories,” said Scott Warren, president and general manager of KPIX. “We are also excited for viewers to now see and experience their local weather forecasting in a more dynamic and accessible way through our cutting-edge AR/VR presentation technology.”
KION was known for covering local happenings, such as responding rapidly to the tornado in Scotts Valley and attending a 25-year anniversary celebration at Scotts Valley High School.
NPG owns or operates four TV stations in the Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz area: KION (CBS), KMUV (Telemundo) and CCCW (CW Network) Fox 35.
Monica Lal, the president and CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, says the news about their Chamber-member-in-good-standing came as a total shock, when she found out about it via the media Tuesday afternoon.
“Frankly, we were stunned,” she said. “They’ve been an important partner of the Chamber for decades.”
In fact, Jeff Mitchell, a sales manager at KION, served on their board of directors until he moved out of the area.
“In 2021, one of their anchors, Veronica Macias, was the emcee for our business excellence awards,” she said. “KION reported on community events and business developments of interest to the Chamber and our community members. Their presence will be missed.”
The way she sees it, this isn’t just a story about the loss of jobs.
“Good local news programming creates accountability, accuracy and a balanced perspective that far exceeds what you’re going to find on social media,” she said. “We need locally created content.”
Lal has seen a similar thing happen before—as print media outlets consolidated.
Now, she hopes that regional broadcaster KPIX will make the effort to look south of the Bay Area and not neglect the Central Coast.
“We hope they recognize that our area has distinct issues,” she said, adding she hopes they’ll at least employ someone “who will focus on the concerns of our area, even though we’re much smaller—and a more rural—county.”
