As part of a nationwide reduction of force, iHeartMedia laid off local veteran lead engineer John Rigg on April 14, 2026. Besides San Diego, John had been supervising crews in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Honolulu.
John joined Clear Channel Communications as Director of Engineering in 2006. (Clear Channel later renamed itself as iHeartMedia.) He had been a staff engineer and later radio engineering manager at KFMB-AM-FM-TV from 1994 until 2006.
Multiple sources say the Phoenix regional lead engineer was laid off, as well.
According to the Legacy website, Richard Lee Lochmann (80) of Chesterfield, VA, passed away at home on March 28th, 2026.
Rich Lochmann. Photo from Legacy.com
Rich was born on August 10th, 1945, in Des Moines, IA, to parents Lewis and Betty Lochmann. He graduated from Valley High School, West Des Moines, IA, in 1963 and enlisted in the United States Army the following year. He served with the 3rd Armored Division until his honorable discharge in 1967.
After returning home, Rich attended Concordia College, where he met his wife, Kathleen. They married on July 19th, 1969, and shared over 56 loving years together. For 44 of those years, they resided in San Diego, California, where Rich was Director of Engineering for KFMB Television until his retirement. In 2020, he and Kathy relocated to Chesterfield, VA, to be closer to their son and daughter-in-law.
Rich loved fishing, hunting, and running. He served as President of his family’s church, Christ the Cornerstone, and was a Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 1212 in San Diego. More recently, you could find him and his son working on projects around the house, cooking delicious meals on the grill or smoker, and enjoying good wine.
Rich is survived by his wife, Kathleen; son Timothy and daughter-in-law Andrea of Midlothian, VA; mother-in-law, Mavis Fritz, of Sioux Falls, SD; sister-in-law Margaret (Jim) of Sioux Falls, SD; brother-in-law Dan (Belinda) Fritz, of Madison, SD; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
I worked with Rich for 14 years at KFMB-TV, and I appreciated his hands-off management, largely trusting his staff to initiate and carry out improvements and maintenance. He provided the funding and managed the messy stuff behind the scenes. We shared stories over beers for years after my departure, and I will always miss those times. —Gary Stigall
SBE BEITC Session: Unique and Particular Technical Requirements for Live Sports Production; 2 – 3 p.m.; N261
Sunday, April 19
SBE Booth NL5, Drawing, $200 Amazon gift card; 5 p.m.
Monday, April 20
Using the SBE/NAB Self-Inspection Guides; 3:30-4:30 p.m.; N225. Open to anyone interested in the SBE/NAB Self-Inspection Guides.
SBE Membership Meeting; 5 – 6 p.m.; N256. Sponsored by Blackmagic Design. Membership Meeting prize drawings include the grand prize of two Blackmagic Design Micro Studio Camera 4K 2Gs to two winners. The first 100 attendees will receive an SBE-logoed keychain.
SBE Booth Drawing, sponsored by Blackmagic Design, at the SBE Membership Meeting, N256
SBE Member Reception; 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.; N250. Member Reception prize drawings: American Tower: Three $100 Amazon gift cards; Dielectric: Techie backpacks; Heartland Video Systems: $100 Amazon gift card
As part of a nationwide staff reduction, the local Technical Operations Director, JR Rogers, was laid off on March 31, 2026. He had been with the organization under various owners since 1991. He worked at KFMB AM-FM from 1976 until 1991, including time with the famous “B-100 B Morning Zoo.”
[Update – On Friday, March 27, a U.S. district judge ordered television operator Nexstar Media Group to temporarily keep TEGNA’s assets separate pending a review of the acquisition for potential antitrust violations.]
On March 19, 2026, the FCC approved the $6.2 billion acquisition of TEGNA TV stations by Nexstar Media Inc., including KFMB-TV 8 San Diego. The CBS network affiliate will join independent KUSI and Fox network affiliate KSWB (“Fox 5”) under common ownership in the San Diego market. The deal makes Nexstar the owner of 259 television stations in the U.S. and includes a waiver of the FCC’s national ownership rule, which prohibits a single corporation from owning more than 39% of the country’s stations. Cable and satellite distribution groups have filed legal challenges, citing Nexstar’s future leverage in retransmission fee negotiations. Some states and Newsmax have also filed legal challenges.
FCC rules currently disallow a single entity from owning more than two full-power TV stations in a given Designated Market Area (DMA), but the FCC waived this rule for San Diego, citing a possible loss of local news should KUSI be divested.
There is some speculation and rumors that the local operating group of stations will close the Engineer Road plant, where KFMB has operated since 1976. No word yet on what will happen with the current engineering staff.
