(Multiple former newsroom employees estimated that number of departures; one maintained a rolling list of names that reached 74 and shared it with TVNewsCheck.) Taylor Henry, Weekend Anchor/Reporter. There needs to be journalists out there. This week four News 12 Long Island anchors and reporters have announced their employment with the Altice-owned news station is ending. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Matt Pieper, who has since been fired from News 12 The . As a result, employee trust in Waldman as a manager has shriveled. Isis Romero was one of the most recognizable faces on KSAT 12 San Antonio for over a decade. Select News 12 newsrooms have also recently expanded the areas they cover, according to Altice. Whether its sponsored or not, its supposed to be generic enough that it can air network-wide, a source says. Reporters and meteorologists have been told to report from the vehicle even when the weather is not particularly notable. Copyright 2023 NewsCheckMedia LLC, 238 Crosshill Road, Wynnewood, PA 19096 | 610-649-7989, Multiple former and current employees of News 12s metro area New York cable news channels tell. Newsday sat down with former News 12 anchor Stone Grissom to discuss life since leaving News 12 last year and his new role at a TV station in Elmira. A disconnect in station leadership was partly to blame, say sources close to the situation. Anchor (1986-) unknown episodes Lea Tyrrell . Josh Elliot was abruptly fired by CBS News on Monday and escorted out of the building by security. WM: Do you believe contemporary journalists have had a responsibility shift from journalists of old? Matt Pieper's apology and statement on Twitter which appeared earlier today. News. And this is basically just more of the same. Many viewers in Long Island and other News 12 markets have soured on the channels, sources say. Thank you so much. This act and others meant that Altice had failed to maintain the legacy and quality of News 12, according to the Dolan complaint. They were upset about the loss of jobs and the detrimental impact such a lack of diverse voices could have on free press and democracy. She joined News 12 in 2000, working her way up from . But these former News 12 employees also say the incident is part of a pattern revealing network upper managements lack of concern for worker safety and well-being. News 12 also recently introduced five-time Emmy award-winning meteorologist and Long Island native Addison Green to the network to anchor weather for Long Island and Westchester. Fourteen former and current employees from three additional News 12 markets tell TVNewsCheck the workplace culture in newsrooms throughout the company had become unbearably noxious under the problematic leadership of Natz, Assistant GM and VP of News Audrey Gruber and other managers hired by Altice. Groups of managers would analyze a broadcast so closely that afterward theyd time a cold opening with a stopwatch and count the number of stories crunched into a show. Matthew Eisman/Getty Images. February 13, 2017. I loved my job, I loved going to work every day, says another former newsroom staffer. Sources also claim that there were instances in which they followed Waldmans production notes and when the broadcasts were deemed incorrectly executed by managers further up the chain, Waldman blamed her subordinates for the moves. The Fourth Estate is really important. During the incident, there was an exchange which many found offensive where Matt Pieper was relaying a message to reporter Amy Yensi and said, "David wants . . Like the individuals who spoke to TVNewsCheck about the News 12 New Jersey newsroom, these sources have opted to remain anonymous, some on background, partly out of fear that Altice, Natz and/or Gruber will retaliate with lawsuits or other actions that could threaten future career opportunities. So I think you just have to pursue your passion, whatever it is. Pat was really great to us, says one former employee. She was all alone, without help, when she needed it most for her staff.. This, too, is all part of the Altice effort to cut costly staff, sources believe. KSAT audiences took to Twitter to express their thoughts on Romero's departure from the network. But departed personnel say they had to eat maskless in that space because staff cuts enacted by Natz forced them to work through meal breaks. She was also part of the CBS affiliate team that received the coveted National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) Service to America Television Award, among the highest public-service honors in broadcasting, that honors exceptional public and community service. Donald Lynn "Don" Owen, News Director/Weekday Evening Anchor. I was blessed that I was there at the beginning of that process, and I was able to oversee the growth for News 12 Westchester and the Hudson Valley, and it was a wonderful career opportunity. Theres a tad of hype that you have to put into it for the viewership, but you dont lie to them and we were basically lying to the viewership for ratings., Not unlike other areas of coverage from News 12, the Storm Watchers have also become a focus of ridicule on social media by viewers. (Ultimately, the hurricane claimed the lives of at least 16 New York State residents.). I just don't understand why they were fired. Evening anchors were removed from their desks to become morning reporters or weekend anchors. Those whod received high marks for decades, threes, fours and fives on a five-point scale, suddenly earned scores of one and two. But two other media buyers say, regardless of the new programming approach, theyve heard no negativity about News 12s reputation with advertisers since the changes began. Some sources observe that there is a place for sponsored content and ads in news broadcasts. JR: Yeah, I will tell you, Im loving this radio show. Sources say managers at News 12 have since made light of the incident and are quick to point out that though News 12 received multiple Emmy nominations for Hurricane Ida coverage, many of the employees responsible for that reporting 11 months ago have since left. For more than a decade Colleen served as the "kick-off" host for Lustgarten Foundation Walk. Discussing the News 12 programming changes, one anonymous media buyer supports the staffers complaints. Other employees detail events that felt like personal attacks on co-workers considering a departure from News 12. KCRG in Cedar Rapids Promotes Kristin Rogers to Morning Anchor. Karin Adams,Weekday Evening Anchor/Reporter. Less than three weeks after the Vesey incident, freelance reporter Darius Radzius, who sometimes worked for News 12, said he was attacked in Brooklyn while covering protests that erupted after the death of George Floyd. Primary Anchor for 5 PM broadcasts. They feel the newsrooms were inclusive and collaboration was also encouraged when Dolan was in charge. As with the hiring of Gruber who one source calls the most condescending woman Ive ever encountered sources say there were further problems with the hiring of Amy Waldman, who became the Long Island branchs assistant news director in February 2020, a few months prior to Natzs hiring. Altice last October also announced plans to relocate News 12 Connecticut's anchor studio to its News 12 New Jersey facility in Edison, N.J., while keeping a crew of local reporters and video . They note that news does not pay workers at a high rate compared to other industries to begin with, and this approach by News 12 creates recruiting challenges for the small group. 12 has replaced its lead news anchors of the past six years, Reg Miller and Laurel Sauer. (News Director Pauline Chiou had taken a leave of absence a week or so earlier. Lukas. Sources say by the time the stations assistant news director, Annette Stellato, began calling hotels later in the evening, they were completely booked. As Veseys presence in front of the camera grew, some News 12 employees wondered, Is this news?, (Sources for this story see Vesey as a team player who, throughout, was simply following assignment orders from management. When News 12 Westchester announced in 2016 that it was moving the bulk of its production facilities from Yonkers to Long Island, several bastions of local news, including Emmy-winning anchor and political correspondent Janine Rose, found themselves displaced after many years on the job. JR: Thank you. She announced her termination from the station on July 27, 2021. Kathy Hochul had closed many state thruways that News 12 Westchester workers relied on to get home. By Verne Gay verne . And you heard today, you heard the show. Current KSAT Vice President and General ManagerPhil Lane thanked Romerofor her service to the station in an email. But after a few months, employees began to see what they call the writing on the wall.. They also say News 12 meteorologists pleaded with Natz, Gruber and other managers in past years to allow them to return to weather forecasts with a more fact-based approach. Channel 12 announced Monday that Gerron Jordan, who joined the station's . Lawson has won an Associated Press Award for feature reporting. 728,429 people follow this. JR: Ill be honest with you, I think they have a larger responsibility, because there are so many facts and figures coming in every day that they have to sift through, and I also think there is its unfair, but so many deadlines are imposed on people, and theres this belief that you have to be the first one to report something, and I think journalists have gotten into trouble rushing to get a story to air or rushing to get a story on their website or rushing to get on Facebook. Sportscaster Jamie Stuart, reporter Christine Insinga . Robach joined ABC News in 2012, and also joined GMA3 in 2020. WM caught up with Rose recently, to see how shes settling into her new gig. You have to pursue your passion. Doug Warner anchors KSLA News 12 at 5, 6, and 10 after first joining the KSLA family in 2009 as a co-anchor of KSLA News 12 This Morning. Topics you care about, straight to your inbox. Holmes has been with ABC News since 2014 and has co-anchored GMA3 since 2020. Theyve noticed a dearth of hard-hitting stories and a rise in irrelevant content. Ryan Cody has left 12 News in Phoenix, announcing his exit in a tweet that mentions "professional toxicity" and mental healing. In a Facebook post, Romero revealed she had been let go from the network. She went on to thank her audience for supporting her work with KSAT. Jeff is an award winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 12 team in 2023. Elizabeth Hashagen is a well-known reporter for News 12 in Long Island, New York. "Mornings with News 12" is the only place to get the local news that matters to your community. Safety was of high concern, as well as news integrity, sources say. Join Carissa Lawson, Kristina Behr, James Gregorio, and Don Smith for the latest headlines, breaking news from overnight, traffic and weather information for all . But people care about their childrens education, they care about their taxes, they care about local crime, and that was actually not the focus of the New York City news stations. Im hoping to do more radio and/or television. Meteorologist (1986-) unknown episodes . The company also points out that it recently partnered with Charter to offer News 12 to Spectrum customers and with Verizon to bring News 12 to Fios customers. If you have that love, you have to pursue it. Current and former News 12 staffers say that elevating the journalists experience above the news item he was sent to cover stoked fear among them. Elliot, who has been a CBS daytime anchor for about a year, had first shocked . However, News 12+ consumption strictly between 8 and 11 p.m. have dipped in the past two years. If you have a passion for healing people and you become a doctor, youre going to be great at it. [Management] had us, for a while, digging through our comments on Twitter and Facebook for Tagboard, this social media integration tool that they had us using for the shows, and it became real difficult to find usable comments., They were all negative, the source adds. Out of concerns theyd be targeted, workers removed branding decals from News 12 vehicles or covered them up while on assignment, against station wishes. Sources also believe the companys upper management purposely includes trumped up charges of poor performance in employee reviews to make cases for their firings, keeping Altice in compliance with the Dolan sales agreement. Though it was a weather event that had been anticipated days in advance, News 12 upper management did not book hotel rooms for its personnel. Grayson Co. Sheriff's Office offer 12-week citizen's academy. A lot of news agencies are in that position where they have to look at the economics of what theyre doing. When the news segment ended she was caught spacing out whi. Last week we reported about News 12 The Bronx anchor Matt Pieper and reporter Amy Yensi's on-the-air snafu while they thought they were on commercial break. Her . The 10 p.m. anchor said the ABC affiliate opted not renew her contract, adding that her last day on air was July 12. Though it was once an estimable product for News 12, in-depth reporting became increasingly endangered in recent years, sources say. News 12 Network News Anchors and Reporters Coverage: NY/NJ/CT/LI/The Bronx Affiliation: Annalisa Klebers News 12 - Connecticut: Shosh Bedrosian News 12 Reporter - Connecticut: Lauren Fabrizi News 12 Reporter - Connecticut: Michele Powers News 12 Meteorologist - New Jersey & Connecticut: Tina Redwine New hires were not provided sufficient training, sources say, which forced more experienced staffers to pick up the slack. Stations manned by interns and inexperienced employees. Bob Thompson, First Station News Announcer. 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