News 12 New Jersey Introduces Meteorologist James Gregorio’s Apparent Replacement

Last month we told you about some of the shocking decisions made by News 12 New Jersey. The decisions rattled viewers as some of the favorite on-camera personalities were released from the station.

Now, we've learned who will be replacing at least one of those prominent personalities. We're talking about the replacement for morning meteorologist James Gregorio.

Meteorologist Mike Rizzo Joins News 12 New Jersey's Morning Show

The news comes following recent layoffs and departures at the station...

Rizzo appeared to start earlier this week (October 23) as the on-camera meteorologist for the station’s morning broadcasts, which start at 5 am weekdays.

Rizzo is a veteran of News 12 New Jersey. He worked as the morning meteorologist for News 12 The Bronx and Brooklyn since 2014. He’s super accomplished and has even won a New York Emmy Award for his work.

Rizzo is a graduate of Kean University where he received both his Bachelor's degree and MFA.

ICYMI - News 12 New Jersey Lays Off Veteran Meteorologist, James Gregorio

News 12 New Jersey released longtime on-air meteorologist, James Gregorio earlier this month. Gregorio had been with the station since 1997.

As for what's next for James, it's not exactly clear.

"Keeping all my options open," he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). 

NEW THIS WEEK: Brian Donahue Departs News 12 New Jersey

Brian Donohue, the longtime host of the "Positively New Jersey" segments that aired several times a week for the past six years, said on his X account that he decided to leave the network after being told the feature was being canceled.

Townsquare Media's Dan Alexander has more details about Brian's departure here.

MORE COVERAGE: News 12 Lays Off Alex Zdan, Rick Holmes & John Bathke

Around the same time, News 12 New Jersey veteran personalities Alex Zdan, Rick Holmes, and John Bathke all departed the station.

In fact, it was reported that they laid off eight members of the New Jersey team and as many as 30-40 employees across the region earlier this month.

Though, we were not able to confirm the exact number of layoffs that affected the network.

News 12 Responds to Recent Layoffs

Altice (News 12's parent company) confirmed the staffing changes in a statement to 94.5 PST.

News 12 is still committed to connecting viewers to hyperlocal, award-winning news they care about across all platforms, Altice said in a statement issued to Townsquare Media earlier this month.

"As part of this mission, we are investing in more in-community reporting and events, creating content for streaming platforms, and making News12.com a user-friendly hub for all things local," a company spokesperson told us.