As time passes, almost everything changes. Local meteorologists are discovering that this is true in the world of local weather broadcasting, and sometimes, those changes bring pain.
According to several news outlets, Allen Media Group has decided to cut various jobs, including managers, anchors, and forecasters. The company has 36 stations in mid-size to small markets across the country, including WAAY-TV in Huntsville and WCOV-TV in Montgomery. The group announced it would be cutting meteorologists from 21 to 22 of those stations, and WAAY-TV is on that list. Instead of using local weather personalities, the company will use weather information that comes from a central hub. The process is known as “hubbing”. In Allen’s case, the Weather Channel will provide the weather for its stations. Allen Media Group also owns the Weather Channel.
Amber Kulick of WAAY-TV shared in a Facebook post that she is one of the meteorologists who will be searching for a new position.
“By now, most of you have probably seen the chatter about Allen media letting local meteorologists go; well, I am one that will be affected by this,” said Kulick. “For now, I am still at the station, but I am looking for my next career opportunity. I never imagined I would finally work in Huntsville only to have my time cut short; let me say this: I know my management team has done everything they can to make this better, but this is at a corporate level, so please don’t bad mouth WAAY on this post. I’ll land on my feet; I always do. If you know of anything in the Huntsville area that would be a great fit for a degreed meteorologist, let me know.’
“To my friends and family here in north Alabama, I love you, and I’m so thankful for your support in this journey. I’ll still give you updates on this page and all my social media, no matter what I end up doing. I love you all!”
James Spann, a television meteorologist, TikTok, and podcast host based in Birmingham, shared his thoughts on the topic on Monday night during the WeatherBrains podcast. Spann has been a meteorologist working in television for 47 years, starting in 1978.
“Some people are just furious. They feel like those local meteorologists are part of their family,” said Spann. “They have been in their child’s school to teach them the weather. They have held their hand through violent tornado outbreaks, vicious floods, or whatever high-impact events for years. And just like that, they are gone. They are out of here. I feel so badly for them that they have lost their jobs. I have been so blessed. Most everybody loses their jobs multiple times if they do what I do for a living. I’ve been pretty blessed. I don’t know exactly what it feels like, but I have had some heartbreak in my life personally, and I know that it is traumatic when you lose a job, and it just happens like that.”
“I am so sorry for those men and women who have lost their positions in broadcast meteorology. But having said that, I want everybody to hear that I am so positive about what we are going to do in the future. There will be a lot of short-term pain, and this is an example of that. There will be long-term gains in that the products and services we deliver will still be on different platforms in a much more efficient way.”
He asked the people listening to or watching the podcast what they watch at night while at home.
“You are going to watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or YouTube,” said Spann “You don’t watch linear TV(a form of television that’s broadcast on a schedule and watched through cable or satellite).”
The award-winning meteorologist then explained that the media has to provide products and services that people can consume on a regular basis and during high-impact events in order to be successful.
“Having said that, I want people to understand that as horrible as this is, in the long term, I am excited. Can the Weather Channel adequately do live tornado warning coverage for Tupelo, Mississippi, or Huntsville, Alabama? I guess we will have to wait and see. I really don’t know until it happens. But I will say this – You can’t do severe weather right unless you understand the people, culture, geography, and microclimate of the market where you serve, and you can’t do that from a distance. …. I think there will always be local meteorologists.”
Sherri Blevins is a writer for Mountain Valley News and a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may email her at [email protected].
