Elizabeth Hashagen Is Ready for "Life's Next Big Adventure" After News 12 Exit

News 12 in Long Island is something locals have watched for years, so when they got wind that longtime anchor Elizabeth Hashagen was leaving, many wanted to know what happened. Though she had been on the air for 25 years, her August 2025 exit still felt a little sudden for those who not only watched her on the news but also followed her on the Be Well segment.

Elizabeth was a mainstay on News 12 for more than two decades. She started off as a journalist and went on to co-host Be Well and become a recognizable face for viewers who tuned in every day. Now, however, along with fellow anchor Samantha Augeri, per Newsday, Elizabeth is no longer part of the news show.

In late August 2025, Elizabeth shared an Instagram video where she explained that she is leaving News 12 after starting off as a young journalist years before. She says that she is ready for "life's next big adventure," though she doesn't explain what that is. With a shaky voice, Elizabeth explains that she feels grateful for the "privilege" of being part of viewers' lives every morning.

"While you'll still see me from time to time here on News 12, I've chosen to hang up my newsroom badge and leap into life's next big adventure," she says in her Instagram video. She adds that she and her co-anchors felt like they were part of their viewers' families. "This isn't goodbye. It is the next chapter."

Elizabeth filmed the video on what she says in the post was her "last day in the newsroom." Because she left her role so suddenly, at least from viewers' standpoints, it came as a shock to many. She had not teased a retirement ahead of leaving News 12, and after she posted her goodbye message and was no longer on News 12 in the mornings, fans were confused and, frankly, pretty disappointed.

After Elizabeth posted her video on Instagram and tagged News 12, her fans and supporters flooded the comments with well-wishes. Some even left some criticisms for News 12 for what they saw as getting rid of Elizabeth after "new management" entered the scene. However, neither Elizabeth nor anyone else affiliated with News 12 has publicly shared that this is the case.

Someone shared that they are "so done with this network now" after Elizabeth and other longtime anchors have left News 12. Even though Elizabeth says in her video that viewers will still see her around the studio at times, she does appear to have retired from her full-time position for good.

Another fan commented that they believe upper-level management at the station has to do with politics.

"One of the most down-to-earth reporters on the air," they wrote of Elizabeth. "Too bad new management and the left have ruined News 12. What was once a family network for Long Islanders is now a corporate machine that no one wants to watch anymore."