Texas newsrooms absorbed another year of turbulence in 2025 as layoffs swept across print, digital, television, and radio outlets, reshaping the state’s media landscape and raising questions about the long-term stability of local journalism.
The most visible cuts came in North Texas, where The Dallas Morning News eliminated 26 full-time newsroom positions in mid-November, its first major restructuring under new owner Hearst.
The move dissolved the paper’s entire copy-editing desk and shifted print design work outside the newsroom.
The Dallas News Guild publicly objected, arguing the reduction violated limits outlined in its contract and criticizing the timing just ahead of the holiday season.
In Houston, one of the state’s newest nonprofit newsrooms closed entirely.
Houston Landing, launched in 2023 with philanthropic backing, announced in April that it would shut down by mid-May, resulting in layoffs for all 43 full-time staff members.
Despite early optimism, the outlet struggled to scale readership and secure long-term funding, prompting its board to discontinue operations after only two years.
Television news was not spared. At KTVT CBS News Texas, longtime anchor Nicole Baker announced her layoff in late October, one of many cuts tied to Paramount Global’s merger with Skydance Media.
The corporate restructuring eliminated roughly 1,000 jobs nationwide as the company prepared for further reductions.
Radio also felt the squeeze. Houston’s KBME SportsTalk 790 lost morning host and former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury in October as part of iHeartMedia’s widespread staff reductions across its national radio network.
Taken together, the 2025 layoffs reflect a volatile media economy shaped by consolidation, shifting advertising revenue, declining print circulation, and the instability of nonprofit funding.
For Texas communities, the cuts mean fewer journalists, reduced local coverage, and continued uncertainty for the future of regional news.
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