After 16 years of coanchoring "The Ten O'Clock News" at WLVI-TV (Channel 56), Marinella is preparing her final script.

On Tuesday, the station's ownership will be transferred from the Tribune Co. to media mogul Ed Ansin's Sunbeam Television Corp ., which also owns and operates WHDH-TV (Channel 7). As part of the fallout, WLVI's 150 employees will be let go, including Marinella, effective after Monday night's newscast.

Note the wording: not "150 of WLVI's employees" -- "WLVI's 150 employees". All of them.

Starting Tuesday night, the CW56 will broadcast a 10 p.m. newscast from WHDH's studios with 7News anchors Frances Rivera and Matt Lorch. The WLVI building on Morrissey Boulevard will be sold.

Veteran journalist Jack Hynes, who started at WLVI in 1984, had harsher words. "I think everybody is angry and sad and bitter about what transpired," he said. "I for one feel that it was something that probably shouldn't have happened. If Tribune wanted to sell the station, they should have sold it to someone who was going to maintain it. All Channel 7 is going to do is close it down and 150 people are out of work the week before Christmas.

"Where are these professionals going to go? The town can't absorb them so they have to relocate or get out of the business," he said.

In a statement, Ansin said yesterday, "We had no responsibility for the payroll or severance packages for the people of WLVI. The Tribune Co. put the station up for sale because it was no longer economically viable as a stand-alone station doing one newscast a day."

- posted by Don Porges @ 12/16/2006 03:02:00 PM |