Two moreprominent News 12 on-air staffershave announced their departure from the station — Andrew Ehinger, theveteran technology anchor and reporter, and Meredith Garofalo, the station's senior meteorologist on weekend broadcasts.
In a social media post Wednesday, Ehinger, 54, said he had "decided to take a voluntary retirement package from [corporate owner] Altice USA. I loved telling stories on Long Island and I am proud to have met so many interesting people along the way. "
Garofalo, 36, said in a social media poston March 12 that day would be her last at News 12 Long Island, while her last shows for News 12 Westchester and Hudson Valley would be Friday.
On Thursday, Garofalo declined to comment and Ehinger did not return calls seeking comment.
On March 10,News 12 veteransDoug Geed and Danielle Campbell accepted voluntary retirement offers fromAltice USA, joining at least a dozen other staffers — most off-air — who also accepted the offer. Campbell's last day was March 10.Geed — the 10 p.m. anchor who has been with News 12 since its launch in 1986 — is expected to remain through the end of July.
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According to sources last week, senior staffers who accepted the buyout are also bound by a noncompete clause prohibiting them from working for any other broadcast news outlet within a 100-mile radius of Bethpage for at least a year. The noncompete clause also prohibits work on podcasts, or writing and reporting for internet-based news sites over that period, the sources said.
While not nearly as well knownas Geed and Campbell, Ehinger and Garofalo havebeen familiar on-air figures during their runs there — Ehinger, in particular, whose News 12 tenure began 23 years ago. Along with consumer and technology reporting, Ehinger hosted until recently the long-running weekly program "The Download."
Garofalo — whose career as a TV science journalist and meteorologist began 15 years ago, with stops at TV stations in Ohio, South Dakota, Florida and California, before joining News 12 in November2021 — most frequently appeared on weekends for News 12 Long Island.
In his Facebook post Wednesday, Ehinger said in part:"For the last 23 years it has been my honor and privilege to report the news on Long Island. But now is the time to step away and move on to other challenges. I, along with some other News 12 employees, have decided to take a voluntary retirement package from Altice USA. I loved telling stories on Long Island and I am proud to have met so many interesting people along the way. I'm humbled to have won several Emmy and other awards and could never have done any of this without the amazing staff at News 12 Long Island."
Garofalo said inFacebookand Twitter posts this week, "I made a decision to pursue a new chapter of my life and while it has been fantastic working with such an incredible team, I have true faith and excitement of what's on the horizon." Sources said she left voluntarily and was not offered the buyout.
An Altice spokeswoman did not respond to an email seeking comment Thursday,but in a statement last week said, "It would be inappropriate to comment on any individual’s personal choice and participation," then referred to a company statement thatread, "We can confirm that we had a voluntary retirement offering that gave eligible employees who were ready for a change — either personally or professionally — the opportunity to pursue it."
The buyout offer was companywide, although it excluded what Altice calls "customer-facing employees," or technicians and those in customer service.
By Verne Gay
verne.gay@newsday.com
@vernejgayVerne Gay is Newsday's TV writer and critic. He has covered the media business for more than 30 years.
