An earthquake hit local broadcast journalists across the New York metropolitan area this week as News 12 carried out sweeping layoffs that gutted newsrooms, eliminated dozens of jobs and sharply scaled back hyperlocal coverage, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n
One employee who was laid off this week described a restructuring that effectively dismantles News 12\u2019s standalone operations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester and Connecticut, replacing separate local newscasts with a single regional broadcast featuring only brief local segments.<\/p>\n
Long Island<\/a> and New Jersey will continue producing separate broadcasts because they attract stronger ratings, according to the employee.<\/p>\n Emmy- and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist Mark Sudol is among the on-air staffers losing their jobs at News 12 Connecticut. Facebook\/Mark Sudol<\/p>\n The layoffs \u2014 which impacted at least three dozen people, including veteran journalists who amassed decades of service time at the company \u2014 were first reported by the industry blog FTVLive.<\/a><\/p>\n The cuts include 11 editorial News 12 Connecticut employees such as veteran on-air journalists Becky Suran and Mark Sudol, along with photographers, executive producers and editorial managers, according to Connecticut news blog 06880<\/a>.<\/p>\n The outlet reported that just seven journalists and photographers will remain at the Norwalk, Conn., bureau and that reporters will now be expected to shoot their own stories.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re basically going to combine\u201d the regions into one shared newscast, one laid-off employee told The Post. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you were to turn on the TV in Westchester, you would start getting news from Connecticut and Westchester and the Bronx and Brooklyn kind of all in one half-hour show.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Altice USA, the parent company of News 12, told The Post: \u201cLocal journalism is changing, and News 12 is evolving with it.\u201d<\/p>\n News 12 Connecticut anchor Becky Suran is among dozens of editorial employees being laid off in the network\u2019s latest round of cuts. News 12<\/p>\n \u201cAs audiences increasingly consume news across platforms and formats, we are taking proactive steps to ensure News 12 remains strong, relevant, and sustainable for the future,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n The flack declined to state how many people were laid off.<\/p>\n The source who spoke to The Post estimated that at least three dozen employees were let go across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester and Connecticut, calling that figure \u201cprobably even a low estimate.\u201d<\/p>\n The employee personally counted 26 people on Tuesday\u2019s layoff call covering the Bronx and Brooklyn operation and said at least six others were cut in Westchester alone.<\/p>\n The layoffs have left employees questioning whether News 12 can continue delivering the neighborhood-by-neighborhood coverage that helped make the network a fixture throughout the New York suburbs after it launched under Cablevision more than three decades ago.<\/p>\n Sudol\u2019s assignments ranged from Hartford Whalers hockey to major breaking news across the state. Facebook\/Mark Sudol<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a big amount of hopelessness,\u201d the employee said. \u201cPeople are taking this layoff as, \u2018It\u2019s time for me to leave the industry.’\u201d<\/p>\n The person said the cuts came with virtually no warning.<\/p>\n \u201cI basically woke up to the news,\u201d the source said, describing how workers received a text early Tuesday morning directing them to join a Microsoft Teams meeting where they were informed their jobs had been eliminated. \u201cNo real warning at all that something like this was coming.\u201d<\/p>\n While the employee acknowledged television audiences have been declining, they said workers had repeatedly embraced management\u2019s push toward digital and social media, only to become frustrated by what they described as an inconsistent strategy.<\/p>\n Suran, a longtime anchor at News 12 Connecticut, has anchored and hosted local coverage. News 12<\/p>\n \u201cPeople wanted to embrace the future,\u201d the employee said. \u201cBut their strategy just did not match our enthusiasm.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the biggest concern among remaining staffers is safety.<\/p>\n The layoffs sharply reduced the number of photographers available to accompany reporters responding to breaking news across the Bronx and Brooklyn, making some journos worry they could soon be sent alone to dangerous crime scenes or confront grieving families without backup.<\/p>\n \u201cReporters are feeling very concerned for their safety,\u201d the employee said. \u201cHow are we supposed to cover breaking news while we\u2019re alone?\u201d<\/p>\n The source said News 12 has long relied on two-person crews because photographers frequently accompany reporters into unpredictable situations, including homicide scenes and neighborhoods where suspects may still be nearby.<\/p>\n \u201cSafety is the most important thing of why you need a team out in the field rather than just one person,\u201d the employee said.<\/p>\n News 12\u2019s parent company, Altice USA, is restructuring the regional cable news network following sweeping layoffs that gutted several local newsrooms. Renan \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n The latest cuts follow years of retrenchment at News 12 under Altice, which acquired Cablevision in 2016.<\/a><\/p>\n