TV Talk: 2 anchors laid off at KDKA-TV

Evening news anchor Kym Gable and morning news anchor Lindsay Ward were let go by KDKA-TV on Thursday.

KDKA news director Shawn Hoder did not respond to a request for comment. E-mail sent to Julie Eisenman, who was hired as KDKA/WPKD general manager earlier this year, bounced back Thursday (email sent to Eisenman on July 24 did not bounce back).

Bios for Gable and Ward were removed from KDKA’s website Thursday.

Ward could not be reached for comment Thursday. An email sent Thursday to Gable, who has worked without a contract by choice for years, resulted in a bounce back saying she’s on vacation for several weeks.

Gable posted to Facebook about the layoffs early Friday, writing, “Because of ‘financial reasons,’ our contracts — both up in September — are not being renewed. … This industry can be brutal, often for women in particular. Lindsay and I have grit, but also grace. And gratitude. … If you are a loyal viewer and tune in to watch the most talented, dedicated, and compassionate journalists in the city, thank you. We will miss those co-workers dearly. Lindsay and I appreciate that you COUNTED on us, but hey, don’t COUNT us out! We still have SO many stories to tell, people to help, change to inspire, and wrongs to expose. But for now, we’ll continue to cherish our time with our families and friends while we ponder what’s next. Reporting for the last time from the studios at Gateway Center, this is Kym Gable and Lindsay Ward, KDKA-TV News.”

Ward, in her own post early Friday, wrote, “We packed up our stuff last night and said goodbye to some amazing people and a place we worked at for years. I was lucky to share some incredible stories from you, for you, and about you… from the field to the desk. I’m not sure what’s next, but right now, my focus will be on my family and my two young, beautiful children. They will always come first. Thank you all.”

CBS Stations vice president of communication Elita Fielder Adjei said Thursday that Eisenman “isn’t available for interviews.” Adjei did not respond to queries if these departures are part of corporate-mandated cutbacks at KDKA, which is owned by Paramount Global and soon-to-be-owned by Skydance Entertainment when that acquisition deal closes, likely on Aug. 7.

Paramount Global said in June it would cut 3.5% of its workforce, with the majority being notified that month. The Paramount-owned local station in Philadelphia, KYW, offered staff buyouts in June. Paramount owned WBZ in Boston laid off at least one staffer last week.

In addition to the KDKA anchors let go, four news photographers and a studio tech recently accepted buyouts, multiple sources familiar with the situation said Thursday. (Meteorologist Kristin Emery’s upcoming departure, announced Thursday, was not a buyout, she confirmed, but a retirement she’s been planning for several years.)

It’s not the first time this decade that corporate cutbacks impacted KDKA on-air talent. In May 2020, the station dropped anchors Susan Koeppen, now anchoring at 4 p.m. on WPXI, and Rick Dayton.

Gable, a Wheeling, W.Va. native, joined KDKA in 2006, eventually working her way up to anchoring the 4 and 6 p.m. newscasts. Prior to working at KDKA, Gable was an anchor/reporter at WPGH when the Fox affiliate produced its own newscast from 1997 to 2006.

Ward, an Indiana, Pa. native, joined KDKA in 2019 as a reporter before being named a weekday morning news anchor in Sept. 2022. She previously worked as a freelance reporter at WPXI and as an anchor/reporter at WJAC in Johnstown.