CBS News Operations To Cut Jobs

The CBS News network will cut about 1 percent of its 1,200-employee work force, CBS Corp said on Tuesday, amid a tough media environment and declines in television and print news outlets.

Local news operations owned by CBS also began laying off employees to cut costs, according to a source familiar with the plans, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The cuts at the network will not include on-air talent.

A CBS spokesman said the actions at the network and the local news operations were unrelated.

Television news operations, whose viewers tend to be older, have had less success attracting a younger audience drawn to the rapid updates of news on the Internet.

The cuts at the local level, in the single-digit percentage range, were deeper in some markets, according to the source. It was not immediately clear how many employees were affected.

Chicago’s WBBM-TV eliminated 18 jobs, including anchor Diann Burns, considered the highest-paid anchor in the Chicago area. Her contract would not be renewed at the end of the year and she earned $2 million per year. Other markets escaped unscathed.

CBS operates 29 local news operations in 18 markets.

“Every one of our stations is different. The one thing they all have in common is that they’re always looking for ways to operate more efficiently and effectively,” CBS Television Stations spokesman Mike Nelson said.

– By Kenneth Li

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