WKRC-TV, which created the multi-hour Saturday morning local newscast for Cincinnati in 1991, has canceled local weekend morning news programs after next weekend, July 18-19.
As part of the station’s shifting priorities, Local 12 terminated several employees, including weekday Good Morning Cincinnati anchor Aleah Hordges, sports reporter Richard Skinner and 46-year TV veteran Doug Lillibridge.
“I’ve been in the news business for two days short of 46-1/2 years. That chapter may be closed. Maybe not. Gazing into the future. If you have an idea for my next chapter, I’m all ears,” Lillibridge, 63, posted on Facebook Wednesday afternoon.
Lillibridge, who grew up in Milford and considers Cincinnati his hometown, worked nine years at WCPO-TV before joining Channel 12 news in 2013. As executive producer, he oversaw the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts, plus special projects like debates, town hall discussions and the WEBN-FM Labor Day weekend fireworks telecasts.
Skinner, who turns 63 on Sunday, planned to retire when his contract expired in August.
“I got called Wednesday, and we decided to move that up (a month),” says Skinner, who started his career in 1985 at the Boone County Recorder. He’s written sports for the Cincinnati/Kentucky Post and Cincinnati Enquirer, and hosted radio sports talk shows with Tom Gamble. He left the Enquirer for WKRC-TV in 2014 when all newsroom employees were asked to re-apply for their jobs, and 27 people left the newspaper.
Hordges came to Channel 12 from WISH-TV in May 2022, after long-time Good Morning America anchor John Lomax retired. She has co-anchored with Bob Herzog and Sheila Gray since them.
Biographies and photos for Hordges and Skinner have been removed from the Local 12 website.
The local weekend newscasts were canceled “to support” WKRC-TV’s expansion of weekday news into the 3-4 p.m. hour, according to a statement from Jessica Bellucci in Sinclair’s corporate communications office.
“Beginning in September, WKRC will launch a new weekday newscast at 3 p.m., expanding our local news coverage to better serve Cincinnati viewers throughout the day. This newscast will increase our local news coverage hours and further our commitment to delivering timely, relevant local journalism,” she said.
“To support this expansion and position the station for long-term sustainability, we are making operational changes, including the discontinuation of our weekend morning newscast effective this month and the elimination of a small number of positions. These were difficult decisions, and we are grateful to the talented individuals affected by them. WKRC remains committed to delivering strong local news and content to the Cincinnati community,” she says.
The Sinclair corporate statement was issued after I requested comment from Franco Gentile, Channel 12 vice president and general manager.
I’m told that as many as seven positions could have been eliminated, including some that have not been filled.
The 3 p.m. hour will become the latest news battleground this fall. Last month WLWT-TV (Channel 5) announced it will premiere a 3 p.m. weekday newscast on Sept. 14. Currently Channel 12 airs Dateline NBC reruns at 3 p.m., and Channel 5 airs NBC News Daily. All four Cincinnati TV news stations (Channels 5, 9, 12, 19) broadcast local news at 4 p.m.
The final Good Morning Cincinnati Saturday newscast will air 8-10 a.m. Saturday, July 18. Good Morning Tristate Sunday will conclude 8-9 a.m. Sunday. They're usually anchored by Sydney Hawkins, whose bio and photo remains on the Local 12 website.
Effective July 25, and until further notice, the Saturday morning lineup will be:
- 5-6 a.m.: Sinclair’s The National New Desk – Weekend Edition.
- 6 a.m.: Full Measure with Sharyl Attkinsson.
- 6:30 a.m.: Cincinnati Refined.
- 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.: Paid programming.
The new Sunday schedule starting July 26 will be:
- 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.: Paid programming. “New programming in the 8-9 a.m. time period will be updated in October,” according to the station announcement.
Local 12’s cancellation of local news 6-7 a.m. means that only Channels 5 and 9 will offer local news at that hour. Dropping the 8 a.m. Sunday newscast means local news viewers will have two choices for local news, on Channel 9 or Channel 19. WKRC-TV is the first local TV station to eliminate local weekend morning news.
Both Skinner and Lillibridge say they want to keep working.
“I’ll probably get into something down the road,” he says. “Channel 12 treated me great. I have no hard feelings.”
Lillibridge, president of the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, says he will carefully consider his options. “I don’t want to go through this again in six months,” he says.
“I can’t retire yet. I need to keep making money. I’d like to stay in the business in some capacity,” said Lillibridge, who was honored by Cincinnati CrimeStoppers after producing their telethons at Channel 9 and a national convention in San Antonio.
“I’m a huge fan of the arts in this city, and this city. I don’t want to leave Cincinnati. This is the only place I’ve called home. I love this city,” he says.
