Eight current and former employees who spoke to the Globe cited a confluence of factors driving people out, including issues with the quality of the station’s content, overwhelming workloads, pay cuts, layoffs, and uncertainty over whether its private equity owners will keep the lights on. Most spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of retribution.
“It was not a great atmosphere,” said David Rothstein, a former news assignment editor at Boston 25 who was laid off in 2021. “I was planning to quit every day.”
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Current and former staff say that the recent departures feel more pronounced now than in years past and that the station is severely understaffed, with employees bearing more responsibilities.
“We kind of go into battle every day undermanned,” said one journalist at the Dedham-based station.
Though Boston 25 ranked second among the city’s five TV news stations in at least one ratings category in January 2020, it has struggled in recent years to rise above the middle or bottom of Boston’s crowded pack. But it has still attracted staff who want to work in a top 10 market.
It’s an example of how the audience, and ambition, of local TV news has shrunk in the digital age, as viewers have moved to social media, streaming services, and other options, and advertising revenue that pays for news gathering has fallen away with them.
In a statement, Boston 25 said it is proud of its team’s work and noted that the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association named it the state’s station of the year in 2023.
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“It’s no secret that there are industry disruptions that have created pressure for local TV stations, and we’re positioning ourselves to operate more effectively as we look to be the TV station of the future,” the statement said. “We remain committed to delivering the critical news, weather and groundbreaking journalism that helps viewers stay informed, safe, and protected while fostering a positive and collaborative work environment for our valued employees.”
The decline in viewership has harmed all stations, but affects some more than others, said Matt Ellis, former news director at WBZ-TV (Channel 4) in Boston and WPRI-TV in Providence.
“Is what’s happening at Channel 25 a sign that not all the stations are going to be able to survive in the same way and do the same thing as before? Yeah, I think so,” said Ellis, who now owns a public relations firm.
The cost-cutting and increased workloads have affected the quality of the station’s programming, said two former employees and a current journalist at Boston 25.
For example, the station did not send staff to cover the Celtics’ road playoff games until Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the current journalist there said, which differed from other Boston stations like WCVB, WHDH, and WBZ.
And for years, Boston 25 has lacked a helicopter, which local stations dispatch to help cover breaking news and offer different views for live coverage. That has hurt its ability to cover fires, shootings, and other urgent news, three former journalists there said.
Once owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., Boston 25 was traded to Cox Media Group in 2014. The station shed its decades-long name, Fox 25, in 2017 to differentiate itself from the firebrand Fox News and boost low ratings.
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Boston 25 again changed hands in 2019, when Cox’s parent company sold its radio, television, and advertising businesses — which kept the name Cox Media Group — to private equity giant Apollo Global Management. Three years later, hedge fund Standard General struck a deal to acquire Boston 25, but that fell through a year later.
Current and former employees criticized Apollo’s continued ownership, citing cost-cutting measures such as significantly reducing anchors’ pay and the slow replacement of workers who leave. Cox Media Group, under the ownership of Apollo, has laid off staff this year at other outlets.
“They’re not a company with a rich history of journalism,” Rothstein said, referring to Apollo. “They’re investors.”
Spokespeople for Cox Media Group did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Apollo declined to comment.
Boston 25 laid off more than a dozen employees in 2021 and canceled some newscasts, the Boston Business Journal reported at the time. The station also laid off some workers at the end of June, according to two former employees.
The cuts and general precariousness of the station’s future have all contributed to employee departures over the past several months, current and former employees said.
The challenges come at a time when news outlets across the media industry are struggling, particularly on the local level. TV news is still one of the top sources for local news, a recent Pew Research survey found, though people are tuning in less since 2018.
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It’s worrisome “to see any part of the local TV infrastructure get worn down,” said Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy.
Among the departures from Boston 25 in recent months are Hopkins, Welch, consumer reporter Jason Law, and news director Sarah Burgess.
The exits have meant remaining staffers have had to take on a lot of extra work, said six workers who left in recent years. For example, Rothstein said there were times when he was the only editor working the assignment desk, which monitors potential news and dispatches staffers. In earlier times, he had two or three other colleagues on the desk with him.
“You can’t do 500 things and have them turn out well,” Rothstein said.
Former employees also said there are barely enough on-air journalists remaining to cover programming. The station’s 20 Boston-based anchors and reporters is nearly half the 39 it had in 2020, according to rosters posted to the station’s website. The station has job openings posted for an anchor/reporter, multiplatform producer, digital media director, and more. It has also tapped freelancers to help fill gaps.
Boston 25 has been discussing expanding its news programming into more hours of the day as a way to cut costs, one current journalist said. Running more news is typically cheaper than paying to syndicate content from other networks, such as “TMZ Live” and “Divorce Court,” which air after Boston 25′s weekday morning show this month. While that could help the station cut costs, it could also put even more strain on employees.
The staff departures and programming challenges come as Boston 25 has remained near the middle or bottom of key ratings metrics in May and June, according to Nielsen data obtained by the Globe. The station ranked third among Boston’s five TV news stations on weekday mornings in total viewer impressions, which includes live TV and digital views. Meanwhile, it was fourth during its evening broadcast hours in both May and June.
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But in an important demographic that matters to advertisers — viewers age 25 to 54 — Boston 25 came in last place for the two shows that start at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Amid the push for better ratings, the investigative team was expected to produce stories at a rapid clip that didn’t allow for high-quality, long-form investigations, one former employee said.
People who have worked for Boston 25 hope the station survives. But they worry about signs pointing in the wrong direction.
One current journalist added: “It’s a crucial time for the future of this TV station.”
Aidan Ryan can be reached at aidan.ryan@globe.com. Follow him @aidanfitzryan.