Former FOX San Antonio KABB and KENS 5 reporter Lu Parker has been laid off by Texas-based Nexstar Media Group. Reports say the layoff is part of a company-wide cost reduction effort as Nexstar executives hammer out a $6.2-billion merger with Tegna, announced in November.
Parker served as Fox San Antonio KABB’s main anchor and reporter from April 1998 to March 2003, as well as a TV host and producer for Tegna-owned KENS 5 from September 2003 to January 2005. She had been working as a news anchor at KTLA in Los Angeles for over 21 years before being laid off in what SAG-AFTRA called “a serious blow to a trusted source of news and information.”
“By laying off journalists across the country, Nexstar is eroding the resources and talent that local communities rely on for trusted news,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said in a Wednesday statement. “These actions highlight the risks of media consolidation and underscore the urgent need for regulators and the company to prioritize the public interest and the professionals who serve it.”…