This is extremely distressing.
These 4 OCMs were among the best at the company. The earlier layoff of Eboni, Cheryl, and Dave wasn't as bad as this. Eboni and Cheryl were good OCMs, but, hate to say it, replaceable. Dave was great, but maybe too quirky for his own good.
But these four, geez.
Mark - I watched him a couple weeks ago on Weekend Outlook. How he ever ended up on such a terrible time slot still shocks me. He was maybe the best OCM on the network for explaining the weather with just enough science to make it interesting. He didn't go over the top like some of the experts do, but was able to use science to increase the viewers' understanding. You knew whenever he said "now here's the set-up" you were going to learn something. I've previously noted that Mark & Bill Keneeley pairings were like watching a clinic.
Rich - Rich was second only to Mark for meteorological analysis. And he did it with that folksy, slightly southern accent. I never loved his pairing with Jeanetta, but with Sharon, wow, together they were awesome. I live on the west coast and preferred their presentation to the EE A-team.
Kristin - Kristin for years came across and stuffy and boring. She was always good at presenting, with a clear, logical manner, but was uninteresting to watch. But like her hairdo, her personality underwent a transformation when she was paired with Adam Berg. Both benefited from being in a team together. Adam's presentation is much better than it was before, and Kristin lightened up and became fun and, frankly, watchable.
Kristina - I never liked her with Carl on PME years ago. Both of them suffered from poor production and were often caught hanging when the music would suddenly end or graphics would splash unexpectedly. They'd both start PME with frowns. It wasn't very inviting. But when they were split, and since, she's been much better. Much more interesting to watch, big smiles, etc. After so many years of being a featured OCM, I didn't think it would end like this.
Rich and Kristina worked together on Weather Center on Monday. I didn't know when I watched them that this would be it - they probably didn't know either.
It's obvious this layoff came directly from the corporate pencil pushers. All 4 were long time OCMs that probably had big salaries compared to their exposure on the network. Broadcast media is seeing cuts like this across the board. Here in Seattle, a high rated radio station fired their most visible and long tenured DJ. Why? The pencil pushers didn't think his ratings (which were good) justified his high salary. But like all 4 of the OCMs above, he connected with the listeners in a way that others on the station didn't.
That connection can't be measured in dollars and cents. When an executive looked at the salaries and roles and saw that all 4 of these OCMs were basically fill-ins or weekend hosts in lower rated time slots, they were declared expendable. Never mind that moving Mark and Kristin to the PME slot and firing Betty and Sam instead would have been a much better move. When it comes down to the bottom line, these four had to go.
The problem with the major media firms these days is they are making too many of these decisions. Personalities are not expendable and easily replaceable. If the product is no longer compelling because you've let go all of the personnel that can connect with the audience and make it interesting, then you'll never do well in the future. This most visible these days on radio stations in major market. They won't pay for good DJs, so the station is boring, so no one listens, so they cut more. The only way out of this cycle is to develop and pay for better talent.
I'm not sure I want to watch TWC any more - these four, to me, were the ones worth watching. I've never liked Paul & Alex, Betty & Sam are awful, and everything else is going to be solo (pretty much). Ugh.
