WTVA meteorologists to stay as parent company reverses decision

TUPELO – The meteorologists at WTVA will not be replaced by The Weather Channel reporting.

Today, the station announced that on Wednesday afternoon, parent company Allen Media Group had notified them.

A grassroots effort that garnered thousands of signatures for a petition caught fire quickly, and advertisers threatened to pull their advertising.

According to WTVA, Allen Media’s decision “has mostly been reversed, So what does that mean for us? The WTVA Severe Weather Authority – the meteorologists you’ve come to know and trust – will remain here.

“And we are incredibly grateful for the community support we have received this past week. Your calls, emails, text … 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.

“For that, we thank you. It’s you who made this happen.”

Last week, AMG’s broadcast television station division, Allen Media Broadcasting, said in a press release that it was introducing a “groundbreaking format for local weather coverage powered by The Weather Channel across local markets nationwide.”

Allen Media Group purchased The Weather Channel in 2018.

The Weather Channel “brings together world-class meteorological expertise, cutting-edge technology, and the most advanced forecasting tools to deliver superior weather content to local television station audiences” AMG said, without directly addressing the potential layoffs of some 100 meteorologists at 27 stations nationwide.

As news spread about the potential layoffs, a groundswell of support grew for the WTVA team consisting of Matt Laubhan, John Dolusic, Chelsea Simmons and Gabe Mahner.

In addition to the petition, a State Senate resolution was passed asking AMG to reverse its decision, and the House was set to take it up as well

In today’s announcement, read by anchor Craig Ford, WTVA said, “We cannot speak to what the future holds months or years down the road, as we certainly could not have predicted how the past few days have unfolded, but what we can say is that your severe weather coverage is here to stay…coming from our studio, coming from our team…and for that, we thank you.”