Allen Media Group is reportedly reversing its controversial plan to ax local meteorologists and replace them with a Weather Channel feed after facing heated backlash from loyal viewers, who called the move “greedy,” “ridiculous” and “damn cheap.”
The Byron Allen-owned media company over the weekend revealed its plans to lay off or reassign workers across all of its nearly two dozen TV stations – including FOX, NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates stretching from California and Hawaii to Alabama and Arizona, according to a press release.
“Allen Media should get out of the weather business altogether. Lost all credibility with their greedy, ridiculous plan to export local TV weather to a central hub at Weather Channel in Atlanta,” one viewer fumed in a post on X. “What a disaster.”
Now, the media group is hitting pause on its plan to lay off around 100 meteorologists and outsource coverage from The Weather Channel after local community members slammed the heartless layoffs on social media, according to The Desk, a digital news site focused on media and technology news.
“After receiving significant feedback across various markets, Allen Media has decided to pause and reconsider the strategy of providing local weather from the Weather Channel in Atlanta,” a sales manager at an Allen Media-owned station told The Desk in a statement.
Allen Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Amber Kulick, a meteorologist at WAAY in Huntsville, Ala. who last week shared she was being laid off, celebrated the reversal on social media.
“Allen media has went back on the decision to let go of all local meteorologists so I will be staying in Huntsville on the air,” Kulick wrote in a post on X.
“Thank you to everyone who reached out and made your voice heard,” she added, alongside a heart emoji.
Matt Hoffman, chief meteorologist at Allen Media’s KDRV, rejoiced over the policy pause and announced that weather reporters at his station and KEZI, both of which cover California and Oregon, were keeping their jobs.
“We’re sticking around, folks!” Hoffman wrote in a post on X. “Our local meteorologists will continue to bring you the weather here at KDRV and up at KEZI. Thanks to everyone for the support!”
Allen Media-owned stations including WTVA in northeast Mississippi, KWWL in eastern Iowa and WSIL in southern Illinois also said they received news that their weather departments were remaining intact.
It is unclear how many local meteorologists who already received pink slips, like Kulick from the Huntsville station, will get to keep their jobs.
The media group is reportedly still moving forward with its plans to build an Atlanta-based team to lead coverage at The Weather Channel, which the company bought for $300 million in 2018, so some local stations may still be forced to replace their teams with the feed.
Many weather reporters had already issued teary goodbyes and written farewell messages on social media. But loyal viewers – many of whom turn to local stations for accurate weather coverage – took to social media to blast the decision and call for a boycott of Allen Media stations.
Another viewer lamented the loss of WTVA chief meteorologist Matt Laubhan, who was initially set to be impacted by the layoffs.
Laubhan was praised by community members for praying for the city of Amory before it was struck and devastated by a tornado.
“I hope to God a better tv station out there will hire Matt,” a WTVA viewer wrote on X. “A damn shame on Allen media group and Byron Allen specifically for being this damn cheap.”
A Kentucky photojournalist chimed in: “I hope the backlash to Allen Media Group’s horrible weather decisions wakes up the large media cooperations that are gutting local news.”
The layoffs were part of a cost-cutting plan at Allen Media, but outrage from local viewers triggered advertisers to threaten to pull their spots at impacted stations, The Desk reported.
Allen Media did not respond to earlier questions about whether the layoffs were part of a cost-cutting plan.
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