CHICAGO — The ax is falling at WGN, cutting a wide swath out of “Chicago’s Very Own” TV newsroom.

Eight veteran reporters and anchors were laid off Monday: Sean Lewis, Ray Cortopassi, Bronagh Tumulty, Judy Wang, Julian Crews, Paul Lisnek, Chris Boden and Dean Richards, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.

Lewis, a nearly two-decade veteran at WGN-TV who has anchored the weekend morning broadcast since 2010, got the bad news Monday afternoon.

“This afternoon, I filed my last report for WGN on the noon show,” said Lewis, 50. “ A lot of really good people lost their jobs today, and it’s a shame.”

A union steward at WGN, Lewis was sitting in on a meeting in that role where a colleague was being laid off. When that meeting was over, his bosses asked him to stay, adding his name to the list. By Monday evening, the final tally of layoffs reached eight.

The massive downsizing is casting a pall over the newsroom, according to insiders, who say Dallas-based owner Nexstar Media is reducing the station to a shell of its former self.

“It’s not often where you can leave a room full of people who work in TV news speechless, and today was one of those days,” said a newsroom source. “It’s been a pretty rough day.”

The layoffs Monday are just the latest at WGN-TV, which has been eliminating a variety of positions for several months, according to several newsroom sources, who requested not to be identified for fear of losing their own jobs.

The contract for meteorologist Mike Janssen was not renewed on Friday, according to newsroom sources. Janssen, who started as a meteorologist at WGN in 2010, has an “open to work” sign on his LinkedIn page, but efforts to reach him Monday were unsuccessful.

Six newswriters were laid off and three technical director positions were eliminated last month. In October, four floor director positions were eliminated as well, according to the sources.

“Nexstar does not comment on personnel issues, but the company is taking steps necessary to compete effectively in this period of unprecedented change,” Nexstar spokesperson Gary Weitman said in a statement Monday.

Akemi Harrison, who was named news director at WGN-TV in August, is reportedly holding group meetings with newsroom staff Tuesday, ostensibly to discuss the reorganization, according to sources.

Nexstar Media bought WGN in 2019 as part of its $4.1 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Tribune Media — the former broadcast parent of Tribune Publishing — creating the nation’s largest local TV station group and moving WGN’s TV, radio and cable stations under the Dallas company’s ownership.

Among its biggest projects was converting the former WGN America into NewsNation, which has evolved into a 24/7 cable news network, a ratings laggard still carving out its own niche behind the big three — Fox News, MS NOW and CNN.

In August, Nexstar reached a deal to buy rival TV station owner Tegna for $6.8 billion, a pending megamerger that will require the Federal Communication Commission to lift a 39% national TV audience ownership cap to win approval.

The following month, Nexstar announced the decision to pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its ABC-affiliated stations over comments the late-night host made regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The move was seen by some industry analysts as an attempt to curry favor with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who had threatened potential license revocation for affiliates that continued to carry Kimmel.

Nexstar reinstated the show nine days later amid widespread backlash from viewers, Hollywood and free speech advocates.

Last week, Carr indicated he was ready to approve the Nexstar-Tegna merger.

Launched by the Chicago Tribune, WGN hit the airwaves in 1948 from Tribune Tower. For years, the station was best known for the Chicago Cubs, “Bozo’s Circus,” classic reruns and Chicago-centric programming. These days, WGN stakes its turf by broadcasting a large schedule of local news each week, including a six-hour daily morning news block.

Lewis, a Kenosha native born into a news family, grew up watching WGN by aiming the TV antenna towards Chicago. The city and the station became his home during a long run on the air.

“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. “I can’t wait to see what the next chapter of my story is, but I’m not moving. This is my city.”

The abrupt layoffs of the on-air news staff sent some reporters packing in “the middle of their shifts” Monday, according to one source. The broader downsizing, they fear, may lead to a diminution of the overall news product at WGN-TV.

Station management made it clear Monday the reduction in force was due to budgetary constraints, Lewis said. The loss of “institutional knowledge of this city and its news” may prove even more costly to WGN, he said.

After being laid off for the first time in his long career, Lewis said one regret tops the list of his unplanned exit.

“I do wish that I was able to say goodbye to the wonderful viewers,” Lewis said.

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