Competitive Info: Local TV News Jobs Decline Alongside Hiring Slowdown.

Local TV news employment is on the decline, and hiring isn’t keeping pace either. So far in 2025, layoffs have hit a wide range of broadcasters — including ABC-owned stations, Scripps, Gray, Sinclair, Allen Media, Tegna, Nexstar, and others. Compared to that, the job losses in 2024 might seem mild.

According to the latest RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University survey, full-time employment in local TV news fell by 2.9% in 2024, dropping to 27,066 jobs — a reversal from the growth seen in recent years.

Why the downturn? Several factors are at play:

• The number of local TV newsrooms dipped slightly, from 697 to 695.

• Some layoffs that escalated in 2025 had already begun in 2024.

• There was also a 20% decrease in responses from top-25 market stations in this year’s survey, which may have skewed the data.

All market sizes saw declines in full-time employment, both in average (mean) and typical (median) numbers — making 2024 a tough year for TV news professionals. Overall, the industry is now down 3.3% from its 2021 peak of 28,000 full-time jobs.

Part-time employment saw a mixed trend. While the average number of part-time employees fell, the median figure ticked up slightly — perhaps a sign of how uncertain and fragmented the job landscape has become.