Verizon will not renew its contract with Rockland County, N.Y. based Regional News Network to produce hyper-local Fios1 News for the Hudson Valley, Long Island and New Jersey.
“Barring a change in direction from Verizon, RNN News will cease providing news programming for Verizon’s Fios1 News network at 12:01 a.m. on November 16, 2019,” RNN’s president of news, Richard French III told employees in a letter. “This means your employment will permanently end on November 15, 2019.”
“The story here is 150 people who are losing their jobs through no fault of their own,” said French. “And what that means to the hyper-local news landscape.”
“We have partnered with RNN for over 10 years to deliver award-winning hyper-local news coverage on Fios1,” Verizon spokesperson Tony McNary told Gannett-owned newspaper lohud. “We wish RNN and their employees well during this transition.”
FiOS1 will always hold a special place in my heart as my first reporting job. sad to hear they’re shutting down. Some amazing hard-working people are now out of jobs. The stories that matter within communities are covered by local journalists. LOCAL JOURNALISM MATTERS! pic.twitter.com/0ugjh1hyZ2
— Dan Mannarino (@DanMannarino) August 19, 2019