James Spann: Allen Media Switch to Weather Channel Is Future of ‘Ron Burgundy Newscast’

ABC 33/40’s James Spann shared more of his thoughts Monday night on the news that Allen Media Broadcasting “laid off every single meteorologist” in cities nationwide in favor of the Weather Channel.

Spann said he “feels so bad for those who lost their jobs….I know it’s traumatic when you lose a job.”

The company, which operates 27 television stations in 21 U.S. markets, has announced plans to begin using “local weather coverage powered by The Weather Channel across local markets nationwide.”

That includes WAAY in Huntsville, where meteorologist Amber Kulick wrote, “I’m still at the station, but I’m looking for my next career opportunity.”

On WeatherBrains, an online video collection of meteorologists across the country, Spann and others encouraged those laid off to reach out for support and guidance.

Spann said the move is part of the ever-evolving nature of broadcast news and weather.

“Some people are just furious,” Spann said. “They feel like the local meteorologists are part of their family.”

Still, Spann said, he feels “so positive about the future” of the industry.

“There will be a lot of short-term pain…. But there will be a long-term gain in that the products and services we provide will still be there on different platforms, but in a much more efficient way.”

Spann said he has seen many changes since he started in the business in June 1978 at a station in Tuscaloosa.

“The day of linear TV is over,” Spann said. “The audience (for traditional TV broadcasts) is just tiny, so that model has disappeared.”

The audience for what he called the “Ron Burgundy newscast” is getting older, Spann said, referring to “Anchorman,” the 2004 Will Ferrell comedy. When that happens, “the products of a bygone era disappear.”

“And that’s okay,” Spann said. “It’s a wake-up call that we need to be aware of it, we need to be where people are and understand how they consume media and deliver products and services in that world.”

Spann said a new generation coming out of college will help build a new model for the industry. “I want to help build the new model.”

That model, he said, includes TikTok and being willing to “build your own brand.”

“We’re not going away,” Spann said. “As terrible as this is, I’m excited for the long term. Can the Weather Channel adequately do live tornado warning coverage for Tupelo, Miss., Huntsville, Ala.? I guess I won’t really know until it happens.”

However, Spann said the ability to provide live tornado coverage requires knowledge of an area’s geography and microclimate, and “you can’t really do that remotely.”

“I could do a tornado outbreak in Nebraska, but I’d be terrible at it. I don’t understand the people, the culture, the geography.”

“In particular, warnings are not just technology, they are a social process,” added meteorologist Kim Klockow-McClain. “One of the first things you do is learn to pronounce each city because these are the things that really matter to people.

The “hubs” envisioned by Allen, Spann said, will not be able to do that successfully.

“It’s changing and we all have to change,” Spann said of the industry.

“I can’t leave a dumpster fire for this next generation. . . . Most of them now aren’t even interested in broadcasting. They want to go work for the weather service because of the dying business model,” he said.

Spann said his employer, Sinclair Broadcasting, allows him to do the job as he sees fit, and he has no plans to retire — he wants to die in front of a green screen while doing a weather broadcast.

“I can’t wait to come to work every day.”

While it may be a step toward the news of the future, the move has many concerned.

ONE the change.org petition with more than 32,000 signatures was started in Tupelo, Miss. to stop layoffs at WTVA.

“Removing our local meteorological teams means losing the trust and confidence built over the years and replacing them with outsourced teams who may not fully understand the unique weather patterns in our locality. In times of severe weather, immediate and accurate information is not a luxury – it is a necessity,” the petition states.