Drama in LA
/
It all started last week when the popular Romero was suddenly gone from the station. Viewers found out when Entertainment Reporter Sam Rubin was handed a script from management to read on the air about Romero being gone from the station.
Insiders say it was like Rubin was handed a note by hostage takers and told to read the script on the newscast.
Word was that Romero was not allowed back in the building and her desk was boxed up by KTLA HR.
FTVLive confirmed that Romero was crossing the street to KNBC.
When a person crosses the street in the same market, it is a situation that gets news managers worked up. But, KTLA handled about as bad as could be handled.
Romero had been at the station for years and is loved by viewers and many inside the station. To basically treat her like a criminal was the plague was wrong.
When talent leaves a station, oftentimes management will not let that talent say goodbye on air, as they have no control over what the talent might say.
But, KTLA could have let Romero tape a goodbye, and then the station could have run that on the newscast. As for locking her out of the building, without the chance to pick up her desk and say goodbye to some co-workers, that was straight-up bullshit.
I can assure you that Lynette Romero was in the building, knowing that she was going to KNBC, before she told her bosses. If she really wanted to steal “classified” documents, she could have done all that before she put in her notice.
Romero is a professional and has handled herself as one for all the years she worked at KTLA. Did station managers really think she was going to go rogue before she left?
It would have been nice if KTLA had treated her with respect and professionalism and let her pack her things, hug a few co-workers and walk out the door.
They didn’t and it ended up blowing up in Nexstar’s face.
Romero’s co-anchor and friend, KTLA Mark Mester went on the air and talked about her exit.
He apologized to viewers “on behalf of the station” and he apologized to Romero as to how she was treated by the station.
Managers fumed as Mester aired the station’s dirty laundry and made KTLA managers and Nexstar look like a callous company
Here is the video of Mester gutting station management on the newscast.
— Wade (@wadewire) September 17, 2022
Employees at the station also paid for a plane to fly a banner over KTLA with a message to Romero and a slap in the face to station management.
Not only are people inside the station pissed at the way this was handled, viewers are upset as well.
The blowback on this is one of those that will stick with the station. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nexstar corporate stepped in and took some action to heal a very fractured newsroom right now.
Also, KTLA is compounding the problem and viewers are noticing that as well.
Stay tuned…..
