Cleveland News Network President Has an Invitation for News 5 Journalists After Scripps Layoffs
Published: Oct 29, 2026 - 4:48 p.m.
By Gremi
CLEVELAND, Ohio — It's hard to read about another round of newsroom layoffs without thinking about what goes into getting a story on the air in the first place. A reporter can spend hours trying to get someone to answer a question that takes 10 seconds to explain on camera, while a photojournalist is figuring out how to show viewers what happened and an editor is making sure the finished story makes sense. There is a lot of work in something that looks simple when you're watching it, and I keep thinking about the people who have spent years doing that work and are now being told their jobs are ending. This week, The E.W. Scripps Co., which owns WEWS News 5 Cleveland, confirmed 431 workforce reductions announced Oct. 27. Scripps says approximately 850 employees have been affected this year, nearly 20% of its workforce at the beginning of 2026. The company is changing its operations through technology, automation and a broader restructuring. Those numbers represent a significant loss of people and experience, and the communities these newsrooms serve deserve to understand how the changes will affect their coverage. I care deeply about this industry, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for the people working in our local newsrooms. I want News 5, Fox 8, WKYC, Cleveland 19 and the other outlets serving Northeast Ohio to do well. I want their reporters to have the time and support to get the story right, and I want the people working behind the scenes to be able to build a life doing work they love. It hurts to see talented people lose that, and I feel for everyone who is leaving, everyone staying and everyone trying to figure out what happens to their career now. I know ratings, advertising and audience numbers are part of the business, and I know newsrooms are often encouraged to look at one another as competition. I've always found that sad. I don't look at our local networks that way. I admire the work they do, and when another newsroom gets an important story right, I'm glad someone got it out there. I want people to have more good reporting available to them and more places they can turn for help. I've also been thinking about why we built Cleveland 13 the way we did. When we publicly launched on Dec. 4, 2023, we were starting a news network in a world where people already carried access to the news in their pockets. Our launch announcement brought together experienced news professionals and community leaders around a network available through 13 online channels. That was the thinking behind the name. Cleveland 13 was built around the places people could find us, share a story, ask a question and become involved. We still get asked what channel we're on, and I understand why. For years, a channel number was how you found your local news. For us, the answer includes our website and the social platforms people use throughout the day. Someone might discover a story because a friend shared it on Facebook, watch a weather update on their phone or send us information after seeing a reporter's video. We built Cleveland 13 with those habits in mind, and that gives us a different set of decisions to make as we grow. A company with an established television operation has a much more complicated job when it changes how it works. It has to keep producing its broadcasts while reorganizing the people, software and routines behind them. Scripps announced in September that its local operations would be organized into 11 regions, eliminating 27 market and sales leadership positions. It said local news directors would continue to lead news operations in their communities. That is a substantial change to how an existing company is managed, with consequences that extend well beyond putting another video online. Scripps has also described plans for continuous streaming, stories published when they're ready and centralized digital production. Alongside the October cuts, its staff memo announced more than 100 new positions, including reporting and community connection roles. The company says it wants more reporting from the field. I want that to work, because the people living in those communities need good reporters. It is fair to ask how much time those reporters will have to gather information, who will help them and how the company will know whether its changes are improving the coverage. TEGNA's January 2026 announcement about its new mobile apps describes newsrooms working around stories throughout the day, with personalized local information and a scrolling feed of original vertical videos. Its technology chief said the company had to rethink the software supporting its local teams to make coverage across screens possible. Sinclair took another approach with the January 2025 launch of AMP Media, bringing podcasts and social video into a new brand for its original non-news programming. These are different businesses making different decisions, but you can see how much attention they are giving to the way people find and watch things on their phones. Streaming itself has been around for years. CBS introduced CBSN in 2014, NBC News NOW launched in 2019, and Gray announced round-the-clock distribution of Local News Live across its station websites and apps in September 2023. Cleveland 13 came into an industry where those changes were already happening. We had the freedom to build our local network around digital access and community involvement from the beginning, and I believe that remains one of our biggest advantages as larger companies work through changes to their established operations. The audience has given news organizations plenty of reason to pay attention. Pew Research Center reports that 43% of Americans who get news from local TV stations primarily access that reporting online, compared with 22% in 2018. A majority still primarily use television, so those viewers continue to matter. There are also a lot of people choosing to read or watch a story when it fits into their day, and they deserve reporting that works for them, too. For Cleveland 13, community involvement has always been part of how we want to do this. Our published process includes vetting affiliate contributors and reviewing guest submissions with input from affiliates and community participants. I like what becomes possible when you bring different kinds of knowledge together. A person who has lived in a neighborhood for 30 years may notice something a reporter visiting for the afternoon would miss. A journalist who knows how to follow public records can help find out what is happening. A photographer can document details that deserve to be seen. Each can make the reporting better when the work is checked carefully. That is also why I want people to feel comfortable bringing us something they think deserves attention. A parent might have been trying to get an answer from a school for months. A business owner might see the same problem affecting every shop on the street. Someone dealing with a public agency might have records that explain more than the official statement does. Getting those people involved gives us somewhere to begin, and then we have to do the work to establish what the evidence supports. I'm proud of what we've been able to build since our launch. Denise Zarrella's "The Click Report" reached its 50th installment by the end of 2025, and Hollie Strano joined us in March 2026 as chief meteorologist and an affiliate reporter. Their experience is a meaningful part of what Cleveland 13 can offer. We are bringing established journalists into a network where we can keep developing how their work reaches people, while also giving newer contributors a chance to learn and take part. Having familiar Cleveland news names choose to become part of Cleveland 13 means a great deal to me, and I hope more will join us. I'm excited about the work we can do together and the experience they bring to the people here. I can feel all of that excitement and still be deeply sad about what is happening to other newsrooms. I want the people affected by these cuts to find good opportunities, and I want the networks they have helped build to succeed. I mean that. Our reporters and programs have also received recognition through Cleveland Scene's Best of Cleveland reader voting. In 2025, readers placed Cleveland 13 third in the Best Local TV Newscast category, behind Fox 8 and WKYC, and voted me runner-up for Best News Reporter, behind Natalie Herbick. We had been publicly launched for less than two years. Those were reader choices, and it meant a lot to be included among people and newsrooms I respect. That support continued in 2026. Our July announcement celebrated "Cleve-It To Us" taking first place in its Best of Cleveland category. This year's nominations also included Nikkie Brown and me for Best Reporter, Marcus Donald for Best Sports Reporter, and several of our programs. I'm proud to see people recognize the work coming out of Cleveland 13 and the individuals putting their time and care into it. I believe there is a real future for this kind of local news, and I'm excited about how much more we can do with it. We can develop programs around the interests and concerns of the people who live here, bring more contributors into the work and keep improving how stories are shared. We also have to be honest about what we can support, how we fund it and how well we are doing the reporting. People should be able to judge us by the work they see. Our editorial standards call for checking facts, seeking relevant perspectives, correcting mistakes and keeping advertisers out of editorial decisions. I want people to hold us to those standards. If something we publish is wrong, we need to fix it. If there is information we missed, we need to hear it. That applies just as much when we're writing about our own network as it does when we're asking someone else to explain a decision. We also need to take care in what we ask of the people doing the work. Reporters who shoot and edit their own stories can produce excellent journalism, but every additional responsibility takes time. Some assignments require help, and safety needs to be taken seriously. The Society of Professional Journalists has guidance for solo television reporters that addresses nighttime live shots, dangerous weather and crime-related door-knocking. Those are practical concerns that deserve attention whenever a newsroom changes how its reporters work. As we continue building Cleveland 13, I would love to hear from reporters, photojournalists, editors, producers, researchers and people in our communities who have something useful to contribute. Someone with years of newsroom experience may have a story they've always wanted the time to pursue or an idea for a program they want to develop. Someone starting out may be looking for a place to learn, work with others and get involved. I'm interested in hearing what they want to do and figuring out where it could fit. People considering that invitation should understand how our contributor arrangements work. Our posted affiliate terms describe nonemployee, unpaid contributor status, while our revenue policy provides for production payments tied to qualifying sponsorship revenue. The role, responsibilities, available support and any compensation need to be discussed before someone commits. I'm proud to be building this in Northeast Ohio, with people who care about the same communities our readers and viewers call home. There is plenty of work ahead, and I want people who care about doing it well to help us continue. If you have experience, a story idea or a program you think belongs here, tell us about it through our contributor application page. I'd like to hear what you have in mind. As always, my email is publicly available to anyone who wishes to get in touch with me at matt.greminger@cleveland13news.com. -------------------- At Cleveland 13 News, we strive to provide accurate, up-to-date, and reliable reporting. If you spot an error, omission, or have information that may need updating, please email us at tips@cleveland13news.com. As a community-driven news network, we appreciate the help of our readers in ensuring the integrity of our reporting.
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