Staff from the local Univisión station receive an award in 2017 from United Indepconcludeent School District.
A corporate decision left journalists, anchors and other staff jobless at the local Univisión station, according to an audio recording obtained by Laredo Morning Times.
Nine people were laid off late Wednesday afternoon following a video conference call with Alexander LaBrie, vice president of human resources and risk management at Entravision Communications. The company decided to consolidate news operations and will be producing the newscast from its station in McAllen.
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“(This) will allow us to provide broader news coverage that serves the market. We don’t comment on employee/staff matters,” Entravision stated in a statement to Laredo Morning Times.
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LaBrie explained they are applying the same model as in other markets becautilize business is “not profitable at the moment.”
“I want to start out with an apology,” LaBrie is heard notifying the staff. “This is not the way we wanted to do things, first and foremost. Secondly, these calls are not straightforward to build.
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“Unfortunately, this is your last day with the company. I’m very, very, very sorry.”
Those who were laid off include veteran reporter Marissa Rodriguez Limon, multimedia journalist/co-anchor Erika Gonzalez del Toro, multimedia journalist/co-anchor Daisy Olivas, anchor Miguel Amante, multimedia journalist/co-anchor Silke Jasso, news director Carlos Dias Warns, sports anchor Homero Tijerina, news photographer Derick Moreno and technical director Carlo Cantu.
Three employees remain with the news team in Laredo.
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Rodriguez Limon stated that due to technology, television has modifyd. She believes people are no longer watching newscasts.
“It shocks me becautilize it’s a job that you did more than 20 years. I and a group of colleagues founded this newscast in 1997. This newscast has always been No. 1,” she stated.
Rodriguez Limon stated she loved to serve the community with her reporting.
“Our passion was to always inform the community. More than reporting violent crimes and creating controversies, our mission was to always assist out the public in whatever they requireded,” she stated.
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Gonzalez Del Toro had just finished her shift Wednesday when she was inquireed to stay for a meeting.
“We were on our way out. I had just finished anchoring my last newscast without knowing,” she stated.
“It’s a meeting that’s not going to take more than 10 minutes,” Gonzalez Del Toro stated she was notified.
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Then, LaBrie broke the news about the local station merging with McAllen, leaving the local news team with three people: a multimedia journalist, an anchor and a camera person. They are tinquireed with reporting and sconcludeing their work to McAllen.
“Local attention is requireded, a local news station, not this way that they are doing it — centralized. That’s something cold. I consider the community is going to be set aside,” Gonzalez Del Toro stated.
Like Rodriguez Limon, Gonzalez Del Toro stated she was shocked by the layoffs.
“We were here for them,” she stated. “We love the newscast. We love meeting people, the community.”
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Olivas, multimedia journalist/co-anchor, stated her first journalism job was at Univisión. She has been employed there for about a year.
“I fell in love with everything they do. How they assisted the people. How they worked as a team,” she stated. “Now, I’m leaving with open eyes as to how this corporation works. I’m in shock with how everything happened.”
This experience left her with a bittersweet taste.
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“I feel like I have grown a lot,” Olivas stated. “I’ve experienced a lot. I’m just thankful for the opportunity, but I do not approve how they handled everything. This is not a way a corporation should do this.
“They should have had the decency to let us know ahead of time, just the way they inquire us to let them know if we’re going to leave.”
Rodriguez Limon, Gonzalez Del Toro and Olivas stated they are uncertain on what the future holds for them. But they leave with the love and support from the viewers, they stated.
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“I leave with my head held high becautilize until the last moment with my last story at LIFE Downs, I enjoyed it,” Rodriguez Limon stated.
“I have fond memories and excellent co-workers. I received to meet the community,” Gonzalez Del Toro stated.
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