WGN Layoffs 2026: Nexstar Cuts Eight On-Air Reporters and Anchors at Chicago's Channel 9

WGN-TV Channel 9 is reeling. Eight veteran on-air reporters and anchors were laid off at Chicago's iconic local television station on Monday, February 23, 2026, in the latest and most visible round of WGN layoffs tied to cost-cutting directives from Dallas-based owner Nexstar Media Group. The abrupt dismissals, some executed in the middle of live broadcast shifts, have left the newsroom shaken and are raising serious questions about the future of local news in one of America's biggest media markets.

WGN Layoffs: What Happened on February 23, 2026

The WGN layoffs unfolded Monday afternoon, with employees informed of their terminations throughout the day. By that evening, the full tally stood at eight on-air reporters and anchors. Some staffers were told to leave mid-shift and cleared out before the broadcast day ended. Newsroom insiders described the atmosphere as one of stunned silence. Station management cited budgetary constraints as the reason for the reduction in force. Nexstar Media issued a brief statement saying the company does not comment on personnel matters but is "taking steps necessary to compete effectively in this period of unprecedented change."

Sean Lewis Among the Most Prominent Names Cut

The most prominent departure from the WGN layoffs was Sean Lewis, who had anchored the weekend morning broadcast at WGN-TV since 2010 and spent nearly 19 years at the station. In a painful twist, Lewis was sitting in on a union meeting in his role as a union steward — present to support a colleague being let go — when managers asked him to stay and informed him he was also being terminated. His final report had already aired on the noon show that same day.

"I have loved WGN since I watched it as a kid growing up, and I lived a dream for 19 years, being able to tell Chicago's stories," Lewis said publicly after his dismissal. His biggest regret, he noted, was not being able to say goodbye to viewers on air.

WGN Job Cuts: A Months-Long Pattern of Downsizing

Monday's WGN layoffs were not an isolated incident. The cuts are part of a rolling downsizing that has been underway at the station for months:

Sources inside the newsroom, speaking anonymously due to fear of further job losses, say the reductions are stripping the station of decades of institutional knowledge of Chicago and its communities.

Nexstar, Tegna Merger Pressure and NewsNation

The WGN layoffs are unfolding against the backdrop of Nexstar's massive financial ambitions. Nexstar acquired WGN-Channel 9 in 2019 as part of a $4.1 billion purchase of Tribune Media, making it the nation's largest local TV station group. The company is now awaiting FCC approval for a proposed $6.8 billion acquisition of rival station owner Tegna, a deal that would expand its reach even further and would require regulators to lift the current 39% national TV audience ownership cap. Nexstar has also directed significant resources toward building out NewsNation, its 24/7 cable news network, which has been competing for viewers behind Fox News and CNN.

What Comes Next for WGN-TV

News director Akemi Harrison, who took over the role in August 2025, was scheduled to hold group meetings with the remaining newsroom staff Tuesday to address the restructuring. WGN-TV has been a fixture of Chicago broadcasting since it launched from Tribune Tower in 1948, building its identity around local sports coverage, community news, and personalities deeply embedded in the city's fabric. Insiders fear the sustained WGN layoffs are quietly transforming one of America's most storied local stations into a skeleton operation, with diminished capacity to cover the nation's third-largest city.