A Baltimore station that had been on the air 78 years started running its newscasts with no anchor at all. Not an AI anchor. No anchor.
They still lost the desk.
WMAR Baltimore now airs newscasts with no live anchor. Reporter packages, one after another. About a dozen Scripps markets so far.
If you've been bracing for a robot
You were watching the wrong door.
What actually arrived
27 leadership jobs cut this week. 270 in August. 60 stations, 40 markets, folded into 11 regions.
One gm. four markets.
News directors stay local, reporting to a general manager likely based in another city.
Say this exactly right
No AI is reading the news. Scripps cites AI “in its operations.” The anchors were replaced by a format, not a face.
Which is worse, and why
A robot anchor you could point at. A deleted format, you can’t. Formats don’t get a farewell video.
They're not lying about the upside
Scripps says more reporters in the field, all day, every platform. The Desk’s verdict on the results so far: “mixed.”
So go count something
Find the show you work on with the highest cost per minute. That’s the one the model reaches first.
One question, then I'll go
Source: The Desk (Sept 9), NewscastStudio (Aug 17 & 27), Inc. (Aug 21).