Texas saw two media layoffs this week: one at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and another at Sinclair Broadcast Group's duopoly of News 4 San Antonio WOAI and FOX 29 San Antonio KABB.
According to the News Guild, more than 90 unionized journalists and media workers across 17 publications were laid off Thursday from McClatchy newspapers (owner of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) around the United States, including at The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and The Kansas City Star.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram opinion editor Ryan J. Rusak and reporter Maven Navarro were among those affected.
"I’m sorry to say that my position at the Star-Telegram was among those eliminated this week by McClatchy. The outcome was not unexpected, but the specific timing was," posted on X. "I enjoyed my 7+ years there, got to use some different muscles, wrote some things I'm still proud of and made some good friends. I'm open to roles inside and out of journalism. I assure you that my skills go beyond snarking on this site, though I do think I'm pretty good at that, too."
"Today, after four months, I was laid off from my first 'big girl' job," posted Navarro. "I am so grateful for my time at @startelegram where I met the best people. Fort Worth has phenomenal reporters covering their city, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from them."
I’m sorry to say that my position at the Star-Telegram was among those eliminated this week by McClatchy. The outcome was not unexpected, but the specific timing was. I enjoyed my 7+ years there, got to use some different muscles, wrote some things I'm still proud of and made…
— Ryan J. Rusak (@rjrusak) September 12, 2026
Today, after four months, I was laid off from my first “big girl” job. I am so grateful for my time at @startelegram where I met the best people. Fort Worth has phenomenal reporters covering their city, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from them. https://t.co/bLLBPJpHcm
— Maven Navarro (@MavenNavarro1) September 10, 2026
Meanwhile, in San Antonio, News 4 San Antonio WOAI and FOX 29 San Antonio KABB owner Sinclair told MySA.
"WOAI and KABB are committed to positioning the stations for long-term sustainability and we have made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of positions in our content center [newsroom]," the spokesperson said. "These changes will allow us to operate more efficiently and continue delivering exceptional local news and content to San Antonio viewers. We thank those affected for their contributions to the stations and the community."
I have not seen anything on social media about the Sinclair San Antonio cuts, nor have any on-air folks been removed from the stations' bios sites.
Back in August, I broke the news that Sinclair sister station CBS Austin KEYE had job cuts.
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