San Antonio Current
An Emmy-winning director at San Antonio CBS affiliate KENS5 has announced his departure. After 40 years in television, broadcaster Raymond Silva said he’s been replaced by AI.
Silva shared the reason for his departure in a Monday Facebook post, as reported by My SA. He indicated that his departure was neither his decision nor the station’s.
Rather, he said KENS’s parent company, Tegna, is “moving in a direction utilizing a system which incorporates AI technology along with automation to eliminate all directors,” My SA reports.
Tegna is the largest group owner of NBC affiliates nationwide, ahead of Hearst and Sinclair Broadcasting. The media empire operates 64 TV stations in 51 markets. Its 15 Lone Star State stations also include KVUE-TV in Austin, KHOU-TV in Houston and WFAA-TV in Dallas.
Salva, who works his last day Feb. 18, is only the latest in a string of departures from KENS 5. A prior round of pink slips in February 2025 included director John Allen.
During the February layoffs, Tegna also fired its Verify fact-checking team of 20 journalists and producers assigned to “stop the spread of misinformation.” In March, the station cut four more newsroom jobs. Shortly after, longtime anchor Deborah Knapp retired.
During last spring’s downsizing, a Tegna spokesperson told the Current that the layoffs weren’t exclusive to KENS5 but part of sweeping restructuring efforts company-wide involving “investing in some areas and scaling back in others.”
The year prior, KENS5 cut jobs in its marketing operations in another effort to streamline.
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The layoffs follow the arrival of current Tegna CEO Mike Steib, who took the role in August 2024. A Google alum, Steib is a proponent of embracing AI in the newsroom, encouraging employees to learn how to report, produce and run newscasts with AI, FITSNews reports.
“[I] am excited about the many opportunities to leverage technology to enhance this service and generate substantial value for shareholders,” Steib said in a press statement announcing his hiring. “Tegna is incredibly well positioned to seize this moment and build a bright future.”
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Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com. More by Stephanie Koithan
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