UPDATE Cablevision’s News-12 Connecticut, whose slogan is “as local as local news gets,” is a bit less local now.
Ton Appleby, veteran news director of News-12 Connecticut, lamented the rise of social media as the primary source of news for Americans at a Westport Chamber of Commerce dinner last year. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com
As announced last October, new owner European telecom company Altice effective this week has moved production work from its Norwalk Cross Street facility to Edison, N.J.
While the news assignment desk, reporters, and videographers remain, familiar anchor faces, including almost 34-year veteran Tom Appleby, are gone.
Westporter Appleby, 72, has been with Cablevision since 1984, serving as vice president, general manager, and news director.
He also hosted the long-running weekend public affairs program “Focus on Connecticut,” which The Laurel, a Connecticut news blog, reported has been canceled with his departure.
Under Appleby’s leadership, News-12 has won numerous local Emmy Awards as well as citations from the Society of Professional Journalists Connecticut Chapter.
Appleby, a Dartmouth graduate with a M.A. and Ph.D in English language and literature from the University of Michigan, has appeared before numerous Westport audiences over the years.
In a tweet on Thursday, apparently his last day on the job, Appleby said: ‘‘STAY TUNED, THE NEWS CONTINUES…’ Thank you for following me all these years. Tom.’”
Altice said it completed its $17.7 billion acquisition of Cablevision Systems Corp., last June from founder Charles Dolan and his son James.
It is now the fourth-largest broadband provider in the country, serving more than 4.6 million customers and spanning 20 states.
The Wall Street Journal said Altice has promised to squeeze out an ambitious $900 million in cost savings from Cablevision, including by reducing programming costs as channel contracts come up for renewal.
A Cablevision spokesperson said in October the News-12 Connecticut move to New Jersey “will enable us to more effectively and consistently deliver high-quality hyper-local news for viewers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.”
Many of the new anchor faces to Connecticut viewers have worked for other Cablevision news stations in New Jersey and New York.
This story has been updated with a tweet from Appleby on Thursday, March 30.
