Nicole Gabe, a broadcast journalist who previously worked in Fort Myers, Florida, joined WFXT-TV’s (Channel 25) morning news team as anchor this week.

Gabe spent five years at Fort Myers-based WINK News, where she started as a reporter and rose to anchor. She joins Boston 25 after several departures from the station earlier this year, including morning anchor Elizabeth Hopkins, evening anchor Vanessa Welch and news director Sarah Burgess.

“I’m so excited to be here. I’ve already explored the different areas in each of the communities,” Gabe said when Boston 25 announced live that she would be joining the team.

Gabe graduated from Virginia Tech in 2019 with a degree in journalism and political science. She then joined WINK News, where she covered breaking news, including the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito and the condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, that killed 98 people, according to a press release. She also covered the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.

“Boston 25 is proud to welcome Nicole to an already strong team of anchors, reporters, news directors and production crew,” said Todd Brown, vice president and general manager of Boston 25, in a statement. “Her focus on telling the stories viewers need to see and her commitment to her community make her a great addition to our team.”

In addition to introducing its new morning anchor, Boston 25 announced earlier this week that it would be expanding its daily news schedule. The station will now broadcast news in addition to its current hours of 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. This means Boston 25 will broadcast a total of 13 hours per day.

Scott Isaacs, news director for Boston 25, said the station expanded its hours because of demand.

“(Viewers) want to see their news on their schedule and on their platform,” Isaacs said. “We just try to always be where they are.”

The publication of further news may also be a cost-saving opportunity, as it is typically cheaper to broadcast more original programming than to pay for syndication of other content.

The changes come as the station’s owners have been cutting costs in other ways. Current and former employees at the station told the Globe earlier this year that factors such as disputes over the quality of the station’s content, overwhelming workloads and salary and job cuts had led to employees leaving the station.

Employees also said the station’s future is uncertain after a planned sale to a hedge fund fell through last year. Boston 25 is part of the Cox Media Group, which owns local television stations nationwide and is ultimately owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. The owners have also laid off employees in Boston and at other stations across the country.

The station also has new leadership in its newsroom in Isaacs, who replaced Burgess this summer. He most recently served as news director at NBC 10 WJAR in Providence for seven years and before that at WCVB-TV (Channel 5) in Boston for 13 years.

Aidan Ryan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @aidanfitzryan.