Three WNBC on-air veterans - Jane Hanson, Max Gomez and Joe Avellar - are all out as part of the NBC's "2.0" cuts, according to executives with information about the matter.
Hanson, host of the station's weekend New York-themed show Jane's New York, has been with the station for nearly three decades since 1979. Gomez, the station's health and science editor, has been there for nearly a decade, since 1997. General assignment reporter Joe Avellar has been there since 1994.
A station representative declined comment, but executives close to the station say there were no behind-the-scenes employees cut and that the station does not expect anymore cuts in the near future.
The station's parent company, NBC Universal, said last month that it planned to reduce its news operation by at least 5 percent, cutting 300 people. The staff reductions are part of a bigger NBC effort - called "NBC 2.0" by the company - to save some $750 million by cutting employees across its divisions. Earlier this week, NBC News began laying off employees from Today, the Nightly News With Brian Williams and Dateline NBC.
