In a significant blow to local journalism in Monterey, California, KION, the CBS affiliate owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG), has ceased its local news programming. The abrupt decision, announced to employees on September 24, 2025, caught staff off guard as they arrived at the station expecting to produce the day’s newscasts as usual. Social media posts and insider sources confirmed to KSBW the closure, marking the end of an era for the station’s locally produced content.
The exact number of job losses resulting from the shutdown remains unclear, leaving uncertainty for the station’s newsroom employees. KION, a key player in the Monterey media market, has long served the Central Coast with local news coverage, but its newsroom operations have now been dismantled. In place of its own broadcasts, KION will simulcast newscasts from KPIX, the CBS-owned station in San Francisco. This shift means viewers in Monterey will no longer receive locally tailored news from KION, relying instead on content produced over 100 miles away.
NPG also owns KMUV, a low-power station in Monterey that operates as the market’s Telemundo affiliate. KMUV, which relied on KION for its Spanish-language newscasts, will discontinue those broadcasts entirely. The decision leaves a void in local Spanish-language news coverage for the region’s significant Hispanic population. Meanwhile, CBS Stations, which oversees KPIX, announced plans to increase coverage of the Central California region, including Monterey, though details on how this will be implemented remain sparse.
Monterey’s media landscape is now significantly altered. As a smaller market, the region is served by Hearst Television’s KSBW, which holds both ABC and NBC affiliations and continues to produce local news. With KION’s exit from local news production, KSBW becomes the sole provider of English-language local TV news in the market. Entravision Communications’ KSMS, a Univision affiliate, remains the only station producing Spanish-language local news, filling a critical niche for the community.
The reasons behind NPG’s decision to shutter KION’s news operations were not explicitly stated, but the move reflects broader challenges facing local television stations, particularly in smaller markets. A fragmented media landscape, with viewers increasingly turning to streaming platforms and social media, has strained advertising revenue. Economic pressures have further compounded these difficulties, pushing some stations to consolidate or eliminate costly news operations. KION’s closure underscores the precarious state of local journalism, raising concerns about the future of community-focused reporting in Monterey and similar markets across the country.
As the dust settles, residents of Monterey and the surrounding Central Coast will need to adjust to a new reality with fewer local voices in their news. The loss of KION’s newsroom leaves a gap that may not easily be filled, even as larger stations like KPIX attempt to step in.
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