Allen Media Group (AMG), the parent company of The Weather Channel, WSIL-TV and 28 total news stations across the country, has informed some of their member stations that the media group will be reversing its decision to lay off their meteorology teams.
As of Thursday morning, what had appeared to be the propagation of an even more barren news desert in southern Illinois has been seemingly avoided.
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Earlier this week on Jan. 18, AMG announced in a press release that it is “rolling out a groundbreaking format for local weather coverage powered by The Weather Channel across local markets nationwide,” which, for AMG, would have streamlined operations and reduced costs.
That decision would have subsequently ended the WSIL careers for local meteorologists Nick Boynton, Jacie Brianne and Garett Hamilton, but that’s no longer the case.
“When I first heard about our jobs being taken away, I was shocked but saddened for the people of this community who would lose local severe weather coverage,” Boynton told the Daily Egyptian.
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“Thankfully, now that the decision has been reversed, the people of southern Illinois will still have a place to turn to for live, local, severe coverage when they need it most.”
Before being informed of the company’s decision to cancel her layoff, Brianne had made her free agency public on LinkedIn, writing “I’m on the job hunt! While a lot of my experience is in a newsroom, I’m open to jobs outside of news and weather.”
Hamilton had also recently taken to LinkedIn, posting his highlight reel with a thank-you message to the tri-state area.
“It’s hard to believe that I have now been working in the Paducah-Harrisburg-Cape Girardeau market at WSIL for almost 2 years,” Hamilton wrote. “Moreover, I feel privileged and honored to have been promoted to Morning Meteorologist a little over a year ago. I’ve covered everything the Midwest has to offer weather wise, including several tornado outbreaks, a tornado emergency, the Nashville, Illinois dam failure, and a locally historic ice storm. It’s hard to believe my time here is rapidly coming to an end, but here’s a look at what I’ve been up to!”
On top of an outpour of public backlash from AMG viewers across the country, there was significant pushback from both local and national advertisers who expressed concerns about the impact this decision would have on viewership and advertising revenue.
Along with WSIL, AMG-owned and Iowa-based KWWL and AMG-owned Mississippi-based WTVA were also informed on Wednesday that the reversal came after both local and national advertisers voiced their concerns about the bottom line.
Now, WSIL’s Boynton, Brianne and Hamilton can continue building their meteorology portfolios in Carterville.
As for WTVA in Mississippi, they were one of the first stations to let their viewers know that they wouldn’t be going anywhere — at least for now.
In a story published Thursday morning, the WTVA staff detailed how their corporate owners walked back the layoffs after facing public backlash through an onslaught of social media outrage.
“Wednesday afternoon, we received word from our parent company that they heard you loud and clear,” said WTVA. “The communication we received was that their decision has mostly been reversed. So, what does that mean for us?”
According to multiple stations across the country, that means business as usual.
“The WTVA Severe Weather Authority — the meteorologists you’ve come to know and trust — will remain here,” the WTVA story reads, adding that they are grateful for the role their northern Mississippi viewers played in helping them retain their jobs through outpouring support.
“Your calls, emails, texts…every word spoken in support of our team was heard, and without your outpouring of messages that rang so loud, this change may not have been possible,” said the WTVA in addressing their viewers.
WTVA news director Pat Petterson told the Daily Egyptain that while the Mississippi skies were looking gray earlier this week, the sun had once again outlasted the rain.
“It’s been a tough week here — severe weather is what we do. It was devastating when we got that news — but this (the reversal) is a big victory,” said Petterson, adding that while he’s been made aware that, like WSIL, his weather team will be sticking around, it’s unclear if that’s the case at all 28 AMG-owned properties.
The media group has yet to release any follow-up press material or external communication to the public on the status of their dozens of local weather departments across the country.
AMG declined to speak to the Daily Egyptian about the confirmation of these reports.
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