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Some familiar faces who have graced Long Island televisions and digital devices for years have signed off on News 12 for the final time.
Four veteran News 12 Long Island anchors and reporters have exited the station amid a reorganization of its newsroom, owner Altice confirmed.
Among the latest cuts are veteran anchor Jackie Lukas, sports anchor Jamie Stuart, and reporters Christine Insinga, and Shari Einhorn, who took to social media to announce their departures from News 12 over the weekend.
Einhorn is out after nearly three decades at News 12 Long Island, while Lukas is out after more than 15 years at the station.
“After nearly 16 years my time at News 12 has come to an end," Lukas posted on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter on Saturday, Jan. 8. "It's still surreal and hard to digest … that being said, wow, what a journey it has been!
“So what is next? I’m not sure. I’m leaving all my options open, but for starters, I’m going to enjoy my family (heart emoji).”
Stuart, who has won multiple Emmys for his local coverage of Long Island sports announced his ousting in a video posted over the weekend online after spending 21 years with News 12.
Insigna, an Oakdale native, has been with News 12 since 2003, first as an intern in 2000 before going full-time as a reporter for the network.
“New Chapter I've spent close to 20 years reporting for News 12 LI,” she posted on Twitter. "My time there has come to a close. Grateful & blessed to meet so many amazing people along the way & work w some of the best in the business! Thank u too (sic) all who played a part! Can't wait to see whats (sic) next.”
Plans for the reorganization were announced by Altice in the fall, as it planned to eliminate multiple part-time positions and Stuart’s sports anchor job. Instead, some of the part-time jobs were converted into full-time positions and the sports anchor role transitioned to an investigative reporting position.
“As News 12 continues to expand and strengthen its news organization, we are focusing additional resources to cover investigative and consumer stories,” the company wrote in a statement when announcing the reorganization. "As a result, we’ve created several full-time journalism positions to align with our programming content."
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