Over the last few weeks, since Scripps announced it would eliminate 268 jobs amid a major A.I.-fueled restructuring that president and chief executive Adam Symson calls a “refounding,” departing and former staffers at Scripps-owned TV stations from Texas to Maryland have taken to social media to say goodbye to their local viewers.

WMAR anchors Kelly Swoope, Megan Knight, and Randall Newsome posted an emotional farewell video on Facebook, telling Baltimore-area viewers that “we’ve all been a part of your families.” Texas-based KXXV reporter Bobby Poitevint posted, “This day will not be easy, but it’s here,” adding, “I thank the community for finding trust in my reporting and allowing me to come into their homes almost every day for the last three years.”

It may seem odd that the company is parting with scores of its most recognizable faces—the people many in those communities rely on to keep them informed amid a growing dearth of local news. But that is, in fact, by design. In a move that has drawn some scrutiny across the industry—and, Status has learned, inside the company—Scripps has adopted a 24/7 streaming model in around a dozen of its markets. This model features anchorless news broadcasting—in other words, A.I. and automation are helping to fill some of the various roles that normally fall to a traditional local news anchor.

Here is how it works, according to an account from The Baltimore Banner. On WMAR, an ABC affiliate, live news content that would have aired during the morning and evening shows has been replaced by a rolling stream of prerecorded stories, with graphics separating different segments, instead of live anchors offering engaging transitions. There’s no bantering among co-hosts or even a presence to announce an upcoming commercial break and provide the familiar, “We’ll be right back after this.” What’s missing, in other words, is a person.

For viewers who have relied on their local news broadcasts for generations, the stakes are high. Some prominent media critics have already begun asking what happens in a crisis. Veteran journalist Charles Jaco said on Threads that the approach “screws the audience in case of sudden breaking news.” MS NOW’s Luke Russert, invoking the coming anniversary of 9/11 and the role live, in-studio journalism played that day, asked whether local TV is headed toward a future where a bot is the one relaying evacuation orders.

And for the people who remain at Scripps-owned stations, the future ahead looks rocky, and anxiety is at an all-time high, I’m told. That anxiety isn’t abstract—it’s suddenly a crystal-clear answer to the question of whether A.I. is coming for your job. The recent cuts have been a “devastating blow,” one staffer told Status, while another questioned the company’s commitment to “actually serving our local community.”

In early August, Symson announced the restructuring being implemented across Scripps in a memo to staff obtained by Status. In the memo, he argued the changes were “guided by our vision to create connection through trusted news and information, entertainment and sports programming.” Alongside the hundreds of job cuts, Symson announced the rollout of the 24/7 local news streams. While those are launching in smaller markets, the company intends to “expand over time to all local stations, shaped by each market's needs.”

Asked whether that expansion would eventually lead to anchorless broadcasts across the entire Scripps portfolio, a company spokesperson stressed that the streaming strategy isn’t a “one-size-fits-all model across all stations.” The spokesperson added that “anchors will remain in many of our mid-to-large markets and will continue to be an important part of our content strategy.”

“Local journalism matters,” Symson wrote in his memo. “Our goal is to strengthen our connection to the communities we serve with reporters in the neighborhoods, listening to our neighbors and reporting on the stories that matter most.”

But internally, many staffers are questioning how individual stations can foster meaningful connection with local audiences while eliminating some of the most familiar faces viewers welcome into their homes each day. “It all feels totally backward,” one former staffer told Status, adding that the concern is amplified “with local news options disappearing at an alarming rate.”

Several current Scripps employees pointed Status to a Facebook post from former WMAR reporter Megan Pringle, saying it captured sentiments they were reluctant to voice publicly. “People will lose their jobs, not just the anchors, but the producers, photographers, editors, directors who make local journalism possible,” Pringle wrote. “You cannot replace people with a format and call it an investment in local news. It kills connection to the community it is supposed to serve.”

Of course, much of the tension surrounding Scripps restructuring stems not only from jobs being eliminated, but from what staffers fear is increasingly taking their place.

As hundreds of staffers across Scripps were handed pink slips, Symson reaffirmed his “demand” that Scripps become a “technology-forward company,” telling staffers that the future involves increasingly relying on A.I. and automation. “At a time when many communities are losing local coverage, the depth we are bringing is our competitive advantage,” he wrote in the same memo announcing layoffs. “New A.I. systems and other technology designed and developed by Scripps employees is making this possible.”

Scripps, for its part, argues that integrating A.I. is simply a natural evolution as executives work to build an effective business model for local TV news that can withstand the headwinds battering the linear news industry. “A.I. and other technology tools are part of that work, but they do not replace editorial judgment, reporting or the human connection at the heart of local journalism,” a company spokesperson told Status. “Our journalists remain responsible for the decisions and standards in our newsrooms. We use A.I. and other technology where it can help teams work more efficiently and devote more time to original reporting and community coverage, consistent with our published A.I. ethics guidelines.”

But those guidelines leave the company enormous latitude. Scripps decides which tools are approved and how. And those unspecified tools can be used by journalists for “research and ideation,” the guidelines state, provided they “should always fact check and verify the tools’ output” and are “ultimately responsible for your newsgathering and publishing choices.”

The guidelines also include relatively weak language on improper A.I. use. “The use of generative A.I. tools is generally prohibited for scriptwriting, article composition and photorealistic image generation on all platforms. As other use cases are reviewed and approved, guidance and approved tools will be provided.”

The word “generally” carries a lot of weight in that sentence. With individual journalists ultimately responsible for verifying A.I.-generated material, and stations varying in how aggressively they adopt the technology, some staffers say they feel “left in the dark.” Others see an embarrassing ethical problem waiting to happen, particularly as other local news owners like McClatchy have already stumbled in their attempts to integrate A.I. into the editorial process. One former staffer described it as a “betrayal” for both the journalists losing their jobs and the loyal local audiences they serve.

And the public fallout is already emerging. After layoffs hit KRIS 6 in Corpus Christi, Texas, multimedia journalist Andrew Bishop took to social media to assure viewers he was not affected—and make an unusually candid promise.

“I want to make it very clear: A.I. plays ZERO role in my reporting,” he posted. “I write my own scripts, I write my own posts, and I interview people for my stories personally. I don’t put those responsibilities in the hands of automation.”

The latest episode of Power Lines is out.

In this episode: We discuss our exclusive reporting about Bari Weiss courting Chris Cuomo for a high-profile role at CBS News—and why that courtship is fraught with complications.

Plus, The Washington Post suffered an embarrassing legal defeat after an arbitrator told the publication to reinstate fired columnist Karen Attiah. We break down the ramifications—and what she told us about the legal fight. Finally, we dissect The Athletic’s potential partnership with prediction market Kalshi—and the early reaction to it inside The New York Times.

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