Three longtime KTLA on-air personalities were laid off on Wednesday as part of a wave of job cuts at television stations owned by Nexstar in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
Meteorologist Mark Kriski had been at KTLA since 1991 as the weekday morning news weathercaster. He was the original meteorologist when the station created “The KTLA Morning News” in July 1991.
Lu Parker and Glen Walker, who’d worked at the station since 2005 and 2010, most recently as midday news anchors, were also among the well-known journalists cut on Wednesday.
Their departures were first reported by the online publication NewscastStudio.com. The names of two other KTLA reporters who are said to have also been laid off could not be immediately confirmed.
Nexstar did not comment directly on the KTLA cuts, saying in a written statement that the company “does not comment on personnel issues, but … is taking steps necessary to compete effectively in this period of unprecedented change.”
Fans of the three newscast veterans were dismayed by the news that quickly flowed onto social media channels.
“Really sad news,” viewer Ted Ziegenbusch wrote on a Facebook post about the layoffs. “All were great veteran reporters and liked by so many viewers. This comes as quite a shock. “Now what?”
“To layoff an L.A. icon like Kriski, who came back after A STROKE is beyond disrespectful,” wrote @rduran on X. “The man earned a proper farewell & retirement. This is a dark day.”
“This breaks my heart,” Kathy Valentino commented on a Facebook post. “I worked at KTLA for many years back in the day, and it was such a wonderful place to work. Employees were really taken care of. Now, if you’re costing us too much money, out with the trash.”
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