Eight currents and Former employees who spoke to the Globe cited a confluence of factors that push people to leave, including issues with the quality of the station’s content, overwhelming workloads, pay cuts, layoffs, and uncertainty about the ability of private shareholders to maintain the activity. Most of those interviewed wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
“It wasn’t a great atmosphere,” said David Rothstein, a former journalist. editor-in-chief at Boston 25, who was laid off in 2021. “I was planning on quitting every day.”
Current and former employees say recent departures seem more pronounced now than in the past and that the station is severely understaffed as employees take on more responsibilities.
“We are severely understaffed,” said a reporter at the Dedham-based station. “We are going into battle every day with a skeleton crew.”
Although Boston 25 is ranked second among Boston’s five television news stations in at least one ranking category in January 2020, it has struggled in recent years to rise above the middle or bottom of the Boston is a busy city. But it has still attracted employees who want to work in a top 10 market.
It’s an example of how the reach and ambition of local TV news has declined in the digital age, as viewers have turned to social media, streaming services and other options, and the advertising revenue that paid for newsgathering has declined with them.
In a statement, Boston 25 said it was proud of its team’s work and noted that the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association had named it the state’s Station of the Year for 2023.
“It’s no secret that industry disruptions have put pressure on local television stations, and we are positioning ourselves to operate more efficiently as we seek to become the television station of the future,” the statement said. “We remain committed to providing critical news, weather forecasts and cutting-edge journalism that helps viewers stay informed, safe and protected while fostering a positive and collaborative work environment for our valued employees.”
The ratings decline has hurt all stations, but it’s affecting some more than others, said Matt Ellis, former news director at WBZ-TV (Channel 4) in Boston and WPRI-TV in Providence.
“Is what’s happening at Channel 25 a sign that not all stations are going to be able to survive in the same way and do the same thing they did before? Yes, I think so,” said Ellis, who now owns a public relations agency.
Cost cuts and increased workloads have affected the quality of the station’s programming, said two former employees and a current Boston 25 reporter.
For example, the station did not send a staffer to cover the Celtics’ away playoff games until Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the current reporter said, which differs from other Boston stations like WCVB, WHDH and WBZ.
For years, Boston 25 has not had a helicopter, which local stations send to cover breaking news and provide alternate perspectives for live coverage. That has hurt its ability to cover fires, shootings and other urgent news, three former reporters at the station said.
Formerly owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, Boston 25 was sold to Cox Media Group in 2014. The station dropped its longtime name, Fox 25, in 2017 to differentiate itself from Fox News and boost its weak ratings.
Boston 25 changed hands again in 2019, when Cox’s parent company sold its radio, television and advertising businesses — which retained the name Cox Media Group — to private equity giant Apollo Global Management. Three years later, hedge fund Standard General struck a deal to acquire Boston 25, but it fell through a year later.
Current and former employees have criticized Apollo’s continued ownership, citing cost-cutting measures such as significantly reducing anchor salaries and slowly replacing departing workers. Apollo-owned Cox Media Group has laid off staff at other media outlets this year.
“This is not a company with a long history of journalism,” Rothstein said, referring to Apollo. “These are investors.”
Spokespeople for Cox Media Group did not respond to a detailed request for comment. An Apollo spokesperson declined to comment.
Boston 25 laid off more than a dozen employees in 2021 and canceled some newscasts, the Boston Business Journal reported at the time. The station also laid off workers in late June, according to two former employees.
Budget cuts and general precariousness Concerns about the station’s future have all contributed to employee departures in recent months, current and former employees said.
These challenges come at a time when news media are struggling, particularly at the local level. Television news remains one of the primary sources of local information, A recent Pew Research Center survey found that, even though people have been logging in less since 2018.
“It’s worrisome to see any part of the local television infrastructure wearing out,” said Dan Kennedy, a journalism professor at Northeastern University.
Boston 25’s departures in recent months include Hopkins, Welch, consumer reporter Jason Law and news director Sarah Burgess.
THE the exits meant remaining Staffers have had to take on a lot of extra work, said six employees who have left the paper in recent years. For example, Rothstein said there were times when he was the only editor working the assignment desk, which monitors potential stories and dispatches staffers. Previously, he had two or three other colleagues working alongside him.
“You can’t do 500 things and have them go well,” Rothstein said.
Former employees also said there are barely enough journalists left on air to cover the programs. The station’s 20 Boston-based anchors and reporters represent nearly half of the 39 it had in 2020, according to listings on the station’s website. The station currently has job openings for an anchor/reporter, a multiplatform producer, a digital media director and more. It has also brought in freelancers to help fill the voids left by departing anchors and reporters.
Boston 25 is considering expanding its news programming to more hours a day to cut costs, a current reporter said. It’s generally cheaper to air more news than to pay to syndicate content from other networks, such as “TMZ Live” and “Divorce Court,” which air after Boston 25’s weekday morning show this month. While that could help the station cut costs, it could also put even more pressure on employees.
Staff departures and programming challenges come as Boston 25 has remained close According to Nielsen data obtained by the Globe, the station ranked in the middle or bottom of key audience indicators in May and June. The station ranked third among Boston’s five weekday morning TV news stations in total viewer impressions, which includes both live and digital views. Meanwhile, it was fourth during its evening broadcast hours in May and June.
But in a demographic important to advertisers — viewers ages 25 to 54 — Boston 25 came in last for both shows that begin at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Amid pressure for better ratings, the investigative team was expected to produce reports at a fast pace that did not allow for long-term, high-quality investigations, a former employee said.
People who worked for Boston 25 hope the station survives. But they worry about signs pointing in the wrong direction.
A current journalist added: “This is a crucial moment for the future of this television channel.”
You can contact Aidan Ryan at aidan.ryan@globe.com. Follow him @aidanfitzryan.