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Meteorologist Gary Ley, 11 others laid off at WJAR
[March 31, 2009]

Meteorologist Gary Ley, 11 others laid off at WJAR


(Providence Journal, The (RI) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mar. 31--CRANSTON -- Channel 10, WJAR-TV, announced Monday that it has cut 12 jobs -- adding to the 12 already announced in December -- including those of chief meteorologist Gary Ley, weekend anchor Kelley McGee and news director Betty-Jo Cugini.



Ley, who has been with Channel 10 for 24 years, made his last broadcast for the station at 6 p.m. Monday. "It's been a lot of fun," he said at the end of the program. "My philosophy has been to make it look like it's a fun job and it has been a lot of fun for me." McGee, a 13-year veteran, ended her tenure with Sunday's 11 p.m. newscast, in which she bade goodbye and said she was looking forward to spending more time with her family.

Cugini has been with the station for 22 years.


Others affected by the new round of layoffs include Barbara Beresford, director of marketing, and Jeff Walkes, vice president of sales.

The 12 cuts announced in December, which took effect Monday, were made possible by automation of the production process, the station said.

Meteorologist John Ghiorse, a Rhode Island institution, retired in February.

"Today is a day of very tough goodbyes," said station manager Lisa Churchville. "These are loyal and wonderful people, so that's very tough." Churchville said Ley and McGee "have known for a while" that they would be laid off and both agreed to "forfeit the remainder of their contracts," which were not due to expire soon.

All the laid-off workers, including the on-air employees, will receive severance packages based on their years of service, Churchville said.

She declined to outline the terms or say how much the layoffs were expected to save the station, which, like other media outlets, has been hit hard by the "unprecedented economic challenges" of the recession.

"We very much regret having to take this step," Churchville said in a written statement. "The regional economy continues to contract. Both businesses and consumers continue to reduce spending and our advertising revenues have been adversely affected at unprecedented levels . . . parting with valued employees is all the more painful in light of the strong contributions they have made." The station gave Ley a little time at the end of his last newscast to thank the management, his coworkers and viewers.

"I feel like we all grew up together," he said to his colleagues on the anchor desk, whom he thanked "for keeping me out of trouble." Joked anchorwoman Patrice Wood, who explained that Ley has been like a brother to her, "I don't think anybody can do that." Channel 10 is owned by Richmond, Va.-based Media General Inc., which also owns 18 other network-affiliated stations, most of them concentrated in the Southeast. Although WJAR has long been the number-one station in the Providence market, the company's Web site showcases its top-rated Florida station.

The company also owns 24 daily newspapers, including The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch and the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal.

On Monday, the company's stock dropped 13 percent to close at $1.82, a decline of 87 percent in the past year, when Media General was trading for $14.02 per share.

The layoffs of Ley and McGee leave Channel 10 with a staff of 3 meteorologists and 10 reporters and anchors, according to the station's Web site. It also has three sports people.

Churchville said the station has no plans to reduce its news programming. The only change will be that its one-hour weekend show, instead of being all live, will mostly be produced during the weekdays, with some live cut-ins for up-to-the-minute news.

"We aren't cutting back on local programming, but cutting back on live local programming," she said.

[email protected] To see more of The Providence Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.projo.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Providence Journal, R.I.

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