Nexstar Assigns Albany Reporter to Pinch Hit in Utica

UTICA — Following the recent departure of Eyewitness News (WUTR/WFXV) anchor Thomas Payeur, the Nexstar-operated stations atop Smith Hill are borrowing from a sister station in Albany to bridge the gap until a new permanent anchor is hired.

Thanks to CNYTVNews.com readers who spotted this recent Facebook post from Payton Cavanaugh, a reporter from Nexstar-owned ABC affiliate WTEN in Albany. She says she’s serving as a “fill-in evening anchor” at the Utica stations for this week.

Payeur’s last day at Eyewitness News was June 12. When Payeur announced his departure, CNYTVNews.com made two attempts to reach station management for comment, but never received any responses. We don’t know who will anchor next week after Cavanaugh’s week-long run ends, nor did we hear from anyone as to who has been filling-in prior to this week. (We’re too far away to watch over-the-air, so we appreciate your news tips!)

Mission-owned / Nexstar-controlled ABC affiliate WUTR-20 airs newscasts weeknights at 6pm and 11pm, while Nexstar-owned Fox 33 (WFXV) airs newscasts at 10pm. The timeslots traditionally filled by morning, noon and weekend newscasts are either filled by simulcasts of NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV) from Syracuse, or syndicated programming.

Despite leaving almost 2 weeks ago, Payeur (and his service dog) are still listed as anchors on the station’s website. The rest of the staff consists of one meteorologist, one digital content coordinator, one multimedia reporter, one sports anchor… followed by the team of “Washington Correspondents” (currently 11 people) which are listed on all Nexstar station websites.

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