Local Meteorologists Laid Off At Allen Media Group Amid Rise In Streaming

According to CNN, at least 50 meteorologists in roughly two dozen local television stations have either been let go or reassigned. These changes affect employees across the country, from Massachusetts to Hawaii. They will be replaced by a feed beamed to individual stations from The Weather Channel.

“Kevin and I have come into your homes for decades — nearly 37 years for me,” Patrece Dayton, a news anchor in Terre Haute, Indiana, told audiences on last Friday. And more than 40 for me,” Kevin Orpurt, the TV station’s chief meteorologist added.

“The television business in general, is changing nationwide and budget cuts are happening everywhere,” Dayton explained.

Why is Allen Media Group laying off its local meteorologists?

The company started a series of cuts in May 2024 due to what the company said were “strategic changes to better position the company for growth.” After this, it laid off its key staffers in October, which the company said was “a continuation of the reduction in workforce.” It also axed the Weather Channel’s Spanish-language version, citing “extensive cost-cutting measures.”

How will the weather now be reported?

Weather forecasts will be sent from the weather channel in Atlanta,” Christina Burkhart, a meteorologist who recently departed Flint, Michigan-based WJRT said. Moving forward, the weather forecasts will be pre-recorded by regional meteorologists recording hits for each Allen station; this includes live severe weather coverage.

Allen Media said it will offer local stations new technologies, innovative forecasting tools, additional graphic capabilities, and the power to cover weather stories 24/7, per a press release. The company highlighted that the weather coverage will continue to be a “top priority” for local stations. It explained that the new changes “will dramatically improve reporting capabilities, especially in high-stakes weather situations.”

Image: Getty/Byron Allen