Local meteorologists broadcast tearful farewells as Allen Media Group — which owns nearly two dozen television stations across the country — replaced them with a source from The Weather Channel, according to a report.
According to a CNN report, the Byron Allen-owned media company will lay off or reassign at least 50 workers at all of its local stations — including the FOX, NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates that stretch from California and Hawaii to Alabama and Arizona.
“Kevin and I have been coming to your homes for decades — almost 37 years for me,” Patrece Dayton, a news anchor in Terre Haute, Indiana, said Friday as a can of beans sat nearby.
“And more than 40 for me,” added Kevin Orpurt, the station’s chief meteorologist.
“For those of you who don’t know, both of our positions are being eliminated here at WTHI-TV,” Dayton continued. “The television business in general is changing across the country and budget cuts are happening everywhere.”
Allen Media is building a new Atlanta-based team to lead “breakthrough” coverage at The Weather Channel, which the company bought for $300 million in 2018, according to a press release.
The new team will include some of the meteorologists affected and will be led by Carl Parker, a storm expert and 20-year veteran of the Weather Channel, according to Allen Media.
It’s the latest cost-cutting move following layoffs by Allen Media and The Weather Channel last year.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the press release, the Atlanta “Center” will have the latest weather technologies, enhanced forecasting capabilities, more graphics and 24/7 news coverage.
Some of the affected employees took to social media to start sharing the news.
“By now most of you have probably seen the chatter about the Allen media letting local meteorologists go, but I’m one that will be affected by this,” Amber Kulick, a meteorologist at WAAY in Huntsville, Ala., wrote in a Facebook post. “At the moment I’m still at the station, but I’m looking for my next career opportunity.”
In a Facebook post, Christina Burkhart, a meteorologist who left Flint, Michigan-based WJRT at the end of 2024, said the layoffs will affect 100 meteorologists — twice as many as CNN reported.
Allen Media did not confirm how many employees would be affected.
“Weather forecasts will be sent by the Weather Channel in Atlanta,” Burkhart said. “These will be recorded in advance by the regional meteorologists who record the blows for each Allen station. Live coverage of severe weather will also come from them.”
Just last year, Allen Media issued a round of layoffs for an undisclosed number of employees, citing “strategic changes.”
The Weather Channel also cut its workforce in October and shuttered its Spanish-language version as part of “extensive cost-cutting measures.”
Meanwhile, Allen, the group’s founder and chief executive, has made a handful of unsuccessful bids for major media companies over the past few years.
Last year, he offered $30 billion to take over Paramount Global.
In 2023, he reportedly offered Disney $10 billion for ABC and several of its cable networks.
He is also said to have considered making an offer to EW Scripps.
Meteorologists at rival stations have clashed over layoffs and a switch to a single weather feed.
While the change “may save money in the short term,” it also “takes away value and credibility in the long term,” Spencer Denton, a meteorologist at rival WVLT in Knoxville, Tenn., said in a Facebook post.
“WEATHER is the number one reason most people watch a local newscast,” Denton said. “These people are more valuable than some companies realize, and I’m sure they will step up.”
A 2019 Pew study found that weather was the most important news topic for viewers.
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