Mass Exodus at Sinclair Station

It appears that people are leaving or looking to leave the Sinclair station in Springfield, Illinois in droves.

The latest to walk?

Statehouse Reporter Jordan Abudayyeh's last day is next Tuesday; Reporter and Weekend anchor Lindsey Hess works through April 12; and Reporter Brendan Cullerton's time at the station ends April 13. 

So why is everyone leaving? The station's GM gives this excuse:

"This is the type of market that's thought of as a feeder market," said Rick Lipps, general manager of the station. "People work here and typically, unless they have other reasons for sticking around, they're career-minded. They will move on."

But, insiders tell FTVLive that it is cheap Sinclair that is causing them to leave. "WICS has been without an Assistant News Director for about 5 months and the News Director (Kent Harrell) is on his way out the door. The staff listed in the article is just the tip of the iceberg. Many other staffers are looking elsewhere for employment or to transfer out from this station," said an insider to FTVLive.

The insider tells FTVLive that one former staffer was offered just a $500 raise to sign on for two more years. She left. 

As the the ND, he's gone as well. "I talked to management and gave them ... 90 days' notice because I wanted to check some job opportunities in other parts of the country," Harrell said. "This has been a good opportunity, and I'm proud of the work from this Springfield news team."

As for those jobs that are now open?

"We're actively looking to fill these positions as quickly as possible, but we're going to take our time to get the right people," Lipps said.

And of course, taking time to fill the jobs also saves the station money.

Ahhhhh....music to the ears of the Sinclair suits. 

H/T State Journal Register