At 1AM on Friday morning, FTVLive FIRST told you that Scripps was going to shut down Scripps News.

About 10 hours after FTVLive posted the story, Scripps scrambled to answer the FTVLive story.

Scripps CEO Adam Symson sent an internal email to the staff, confirming what we reported.

FTVLive will have more on this story.

Here’s that email:

Employees:

I have some difficult and painful news to share with you about Scripps News. Our plans are still developing, but as rumors have spread this week, we felt we owed it to you to tell you what we could as soon as possible.

After Nov. 15, we will be winding down Scripps News’ 24/7 national news programming. Scripps News will no longer broadcast over the air, although it will remain on streaming and digital platforms with weekday live coverage from the field. A core reporting team, based primarily in Washington, D.C., also will serve Scripps’ local stations’ news operations with national and international journalism. As a result of these changes, we expect to eliminate more than 200 jobs.

Over the last two years, Scripps News’ live anchored coverage and documentary programming have grown its linear television audience, but the prospects for the necessary revenue growth haven’t materialized, despite our sales teams’ efforts. Scripps News’ current financial position is what has led me to the decision to scale back our approach to 24-hour news and over-the-air coverage.

Amidst an already difficult linear television advertising marketplace, many brands and agencies have decided that advertising around national news is just too risky for them given the polarized nature of this country, no matter the accolades and credentials a news organization like Scripps receives for its objectivity. I vehemently disagree, but it is hurting Scripps News, along with every other national linear and digital news outlet.

This is not the end of Scripps News as an important part of our company. We expect approximately 50 Scripps News staff members will remain to report for our local news audiences and produce the streaming and digital content, all under the Scripps News brand. We will prioritize field reporting, our strong political coverage, investigative reporting and our digital and social media presence. This company has a long history of national reporting for local audiences, and Scripps News will continue to connect our viewers to the important events and ideas outside of their communities.

I want to be clear that this move in no way reflects disappointment with Scripps News’ work. I am very proud of the news organization that Scripps President of News Kate O’Brian and the Scripps News team have built over the past several years. The investigative work, the documentaries, the long-form storytelling, the talent, the daily content did not take a back seat to anyone. The commitment to journalism and the dedication to excellence by the entire team has been unwavering.

On Sept. 25, Scripps News was honored with its second national news Emmy Award. In the past two years, the team also has received the David Bloom Award for excellence in enterprise reporting, two National Edward R. Murrow Awards, a Peabody Award, a Gracie Award, a Deadline Club Award, a New York Press Club Award and multiple National Headliner Awards, among others. 

There have been remarkable partnerships on important stories with ProPublica, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

I also want to emphasize that the advertising issues Scripps News has faced reflect the national marketplace. Locally, there is advertising support for our local news and our stations’ ability to connect local businesses with our audiences. It remains our responsibility to serve local communities and connect them to the greater world through Scripps News’ national and international reporting.

Finally, but most important, I am acutely aware of how this impacts the lives of our team – our colleagues for whom this comes as a blow to their personal and professional lives. Our HR team will be in contact with them by Tuesday and be available to provide more information and answer questions. We will be looking for opportunities for many of these talented journalists to stay within the company and will work with them to ease this transition.

We greatly appreciate our Scripps News team’s contribution to everything that is good about the news media today.

Adam Symson (he/him)
President and CEO