Three of the most familiar on-air faces at WWBT-Channel 12 have been laid off.
Longtime sports director Ben Hamlin, anchor Gene Lepley, and Henrico and Hanover counties reporter Rob Richardson are among the seven employees from several departments whose jobs were eliminated yesterday because of the economy.
General Manager Don Richards would not verify the identity of the employees who were let go, saying the company was respecting their privacy.
Hamlin has been at the station since 1980. Lepley, who was anchoring the "NBC 12's News at 5" and NBC 12 News at 5:30" newscasts, has been with WWBT since 1994. Richardson has been at the station since 2000.
According to Richards, the layoffs are just one aspect of the station's cost-cutting measures.
"We're trying to be very thoughtful in every single area of expense, like every media company right now. This is a painful part and a very public part of the overall process of managing our expenses," he said.
No more layoffs are being contemplated for this year, and none is budgeted for next year, he said. "We certainly hope this is it."
The bad news came in the midst of good news for the station. In the crucial November sweeps period, WWBT's news attracted the most viewers for every newscast of the day, said marketing director Paula Hersh.
The favorable numbers were taken into consideration when the decision was made about the number of layoffs, Richards said.
Contact Daniel Neman at (804) 649-6408 or dneman@timesdispatch.com .
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