WTSP shuffles weather staff

[HARTride 2012]

First WFLA and its layoffs, now WTSP is victim to a downsizing of its weather department...

08/18/08 - (from SPTimes.com) - As Tropical Storm Fay turns TV viewers’ attention to weather reports, WTSP-Ch. 10 plans to soon let go meteorologist Anna Allen and demote forecaster Randy Rauch from on-air work. So WTSP will be shuffling forecasters during hurricane season, when local stations compete hardest for viewers tracking storm systems. The moves come during a year of change on the local weather scene, ranging from the unexpected death of WTSP chief meteorologist Dick Fletcher in February to the layoff of WFLA-Ch. 8 forecaster Mace Michaels earlier this year. Allen, 43, confirmed she would be leaving the station Sept. 5, following WTSP’s decision to exercise an option terminating her contract early. Rauch also confirmed he would be demoted soon from on-air work, replaced by colleague Sherry Ray. “I think it shocked both of us,” said Rauch. “I think they’ve been trying to make me irrelevant for some time. But they got in a jam when Fletch left us, and I had to fill in. WTSP general manager Sam Rosenwasser declined to comment on the changes, beyond insisting that the station, which has three meteorologists, will not dip below that number. He said the station plans “very soon” to announce Fletcher’s successor, but wouldn’t give a specific date. “We have a very strong team of meteorologists here and we expect that to continue,” said Rosenwasser of WTSP, which pre-empted the Dr. Phil show to present storm coverage from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday evening. Tampa Bay area TV meteorologists stepped up coverage Monday, preparing for continuous broadcasts if the storm worsened, loading their station Web sites, digital channels and mobile alert systems with information. WFLA and WFTS-Ch. 28 also have teams of three on-air meteorologists. WFTS news director Chris Jadick said three people can do the job of covering weather emergencies. “We’ve got some of best people in the business working here,” he said. “We’re good to go.” Fox station WTVT-Ch. 13 and cable newschannel Bay News 9 each have five on-air meteorologists. The cable channel also called in former chief meteorologist Alan Winfeld on Monday to help. The station was continuously focused on Fay beginning at 5 a.m. “We expect to be live all night long,” said general manager Terry Dolan. “This is what we do.” On Monday afternoon, WTSP’s Rosenwasser was weighing whether to pre-empt prime-time programming for storm coverage. “No matter what we do, we can get blamed,” he said. “We’re just trying to be careful and keep things in proportion.” At WTVT, chief meteorologist Paul Dellegatto was marveling at the traffic on the station’s weather-centered Web site MyFoxHurricane.com, which had nearly 3-million pageviews by mid-day Monday. “Go back to the days of Roy Leep and this station has always had a reputation for having a great weather department,” said Dellegatto. (Leep retired as WTVT’s chief meteorologist in 1997 after 40 years.) “I’m just glad the station continues to make that commitment.”

http://www.flnewscenter.com/

[HARTride 2012]

WTSP's forecaster makes local history

By Eric Deggans, Times TV/Media Critic
In print: Thursday, September 11, 2008


Tammie Souza said she hopes to pay an on-air tribute to Dick Fletcher.

09/11/08 - When she accepted the job as chief meteorologist at WTSP-Ch. 10, Chicago forecaster Tammie Souza knew she faced a huge challenge — taking over a job held nearly 30 years by local legend Dick Fletcher until his death after a stroke in February. What Souza and her new bosses at WTSP didn't know was that she would also be making local history by becoming the first female chief meteorologist in Tampa Bay area TV history. "That's an amazing thing," said Souza, who will leave Fox affiliate WFLD in Chicago for WTSP, starting Oct. 27. "To have an opportunity to come in and help reshape (WTSP's) weather team and work in Tampa … I would be crazy not to take advantage of it." Already, Souza is part of a select group. According to a recent poll of more than 1,200 TV stations by the Radio-Television News Directors Association and Hofstra University, just 21.6 percent of weather forecasters at local stations nationwide are women. Souza, whose sister Patty is chief meteorologist at KXTV in Sacramento, Calif., said she's seen a growing number of women interested in the field — a sentiment echoed by a woman who believes she was the second female meteorologist in Tampa Bay area TV, former WTSP forecaster Laura York. "I think WTSP had to pull a McCain," said York, referring to the way GOP candidate John McCain changed the presidential race by tapping Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. "Dick Fletcher was an icon, so they needed to hire someone who could shake it up," added York, who worked at WFLA and WTSP from 1987 to 2000. Still, officials at WTSP didn't realize the significance of their hire, focusing instead on trying to find the right person to connect with their viewers. Applicants from CNN and the Weather Channel were among those considered. Even as the station was settling on Souza, they tested her work before focus groups to see how viewers might react. "As much as we hate hurricanes, good weather forecasters thrive on this stuff," said WTSP general manager Sam Rosenwasser, noting that Souza also has the highest certifications from the American Meteorological Society. "This is like the Super Bowl for meteorologists … and she can be part of helping set the direction for the weather department." That's because WTSP has implemented several changes in its weather department in recent weeks, letting go of morning and noon forecaster Anna Allen and hiring Chris Suchan from North Carolina. Rosenwasser declined to comment, but forecaster Randy Rauch also expects to leave the station when his contract expires Sept, 29. It's a lot of change for a small weather department while also working to cover emergencies such as Tropical Storm Fay and hurricanes Gustav and Ike. And although her experience doesn't include tropical weather — she worked in Wisconsin and California before joining Chicago's NBC's station WMAQ in 2000 and WFLD in 2006 — Souza expects to pick up on Florida's weather patterns quickly. Former WTVT forecaster Roy Leep, considered the area's dean of meteorologists until his retirement in 1997, said neither he nor Fletcher had experience with tropical weather when they came to the state. "If you know meteorology, you'll be fine," he said. "But she's going to have some big shoes to fill." Indeed, Souza's biggest hurdle may be introducing herself to area viewers who had grown used to Fletcher over the years — though the eight-month gap between his death and her arrival may help ease the transition. "Nobody's going to fill Dick's shoes … he's a legend and rightly so," said Souza, who hopes to pay some tribute to her predecessor on air when she joins the newscast. "I'm here to pick up the torch and carry it forward. Hopefully, people will like your style and want to follow you."

http://www.flnewscenter.com/
http://www.tampabay.com/features/med...icle805364.ece

[HARTride 2012]

Weekend anchor Jen Howe was terminated...

Jennifer Howe let go as weekend anchor at WTSP-Ch. 10

Jennifer Howe was just a few hours into her shift Sunday, preparing to anchor WTSP-Ch. 10's 5 p.m. webcast, when the news director asked her to come to his office.

Before long, Howe's concern about seeing the station's top news manager in the building on a weekend were realized: she was informed the station was exercising its option to end her contact early, terminating her employment then.

Howe says she was told to turn in the employee I.D. and work related materials and asked to leave the building. Anchor Heather Van Nest anchored WTSP's late night newscast; Howe says she was never told why the station chose to let her go.

"(News director Darren Richards) said they chose to do it on a Sunday because there were fewer people around," said Howe, 42, who worked at WTSP for more than 12 years.

WTSP general manager Sam Rosenwasser said he could not comment on the specifics of Howe's termination and wasn't sure who would replace her in the long term. Peter Nikiel, WTSP's director of marketing and promotion, said such transitions sometimes happen in the TV news industry.

In the past few weeks, WTSP has let go weather forecasters Anna Allen and Randy Rauch and traffic reporter Meredyth Censullo. But Nikiel said the trickle of departures hasn't affected morale at the station.

"It's TV -- people come and go for a lot of different reasons," said Nikiel, who could not say who would replace Howe on the station's weekend newscasts in the short or long term. "We will continue on, like we always have."

Howe came to WTSP in as a morning anchor in 1996, moving to the weekends in 1997. She was married to former WTSP anchor Pat Minarcin, who won nearly $300,000 in 2002 after filing an age discirmination lawsuit against the station. He was replaced by current evening anchor Reginald Roundtree in 1998.

But Howe said her departure likely had nothing to do with that lawsuit. Her marriage to Minarcin ended in 2006; they have a daughter, 7-year-old McKenna Katrina Minarcin.

A native of St. Petersburg, Howe hopes to develop work voicing commercials and stay in the Tampa Bay area. "A lot of media outlets are suffering economic difficulties and having to make tough decisions," said Howe. "I just wished I'd had a chance to say goodbye last night."

http://blogs.tampabay.com/media/2008...er-howe-l.html

[DShenise]

I hate the way companies terminate people now a days. They treat everyone either like a potential serial killer or a 5 year old. All it does is breed resentment for the former company. 99% of the public would say goodbye to their friends and go. Its gotten to the point where I don't want to be a formal employee anymore, and just take freelance work.

[HARTride 2012]

I agree. So many stations are laying off workers, meaning that they aren't immune to the economical crisis. But it is still irritating to the one who's getting terminated...

[DShenise]

It breeds mistrust and resentment among those left behind. I know, it is exactly what happened this past spring when my former company had a big layoff. Everyone else began polishing their resumes and actively looking for other jobs. In the end the company went under because no one cared anymore. I'm not saying WTSP would go under, but they could be in for a couple years at the bottom, if a bitter "me first" attitude takes root, because it will come across in the product. I used to stress how I was loyal during job interviews, I don't anymore. If asked, I flat out tell people that its a partnership and if management starts dropping the ball I'm out the door.

But basically, hasn't WTSP been in the tank since John Wilson left? I mean most people I knew watched either WFLA (gotta love Gayle's chest freckles) or Fox13 (Kelly Ring/Craig whatever still living off past hotness). So it seems to me they are just re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

[HARTride 2012]

Originally Posted by DShenise

But basically, hasn't WTSP been in the tank since John Wilson left? I mean most people I knew watched either WFLA (gotta love Gayle's chest freckles) or Fox13 (Kelly Ring/Craig whatever still living off past hotness). So it seems to me they are just re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

WTSP hasn't done too good in that aspect. Yeah, John Wilson is a good personality and so is his son Mark. John's wife is a music teacher and the other son is an broadway actor. So pretty well-known family here in the bay area. Yeah quite a few people have left WTSP for other station jobs too. For instance, Diane Kachmirick is with Bay News 9 and Linda Gialanella is with WFTS. Both of them were with WTSP at one time or another. Mario Diaz, who once anchored the morning program left the Tampa market altogether I believe. Let's not forget Al Ruechel, who is also with Bay News 9.

[John F]

Lets not forget Al Reuchel was another anchor who was 86'ed from WTSP (I THINK). He landed at a religious station before Bay News 9 came into being.

But DS brought up Kelly Ring/Kelly Craig (another blonde anchor who preceded Ring at WTVT). WTSP brought in Ring's clone in Marty Matthews in what I thought was an attempt to siphon off some of WTVT's attractiveness content.

The thing is, WTVT/WFLA didn't just have strong lead in's with networks in the 1990's (before the upheval -- CBS / NBC). They had trusted newscasters and strong newscasts. WTSP has always taken a different track but they haven't been able to capture the same feeling of trustworthiness of their anchors (IMHO). 13 has long time standards in Denise White, Kathy Fountain, Frank Robertson, Ring, Wilson, even Chip Carter for god sake! WFLA is suffering because of it's ownership right now but still has a large loyalty base.

But back to the subject of this thread: I saw photos of this woman on her last day... She was wearing short-shorts. Is it really wise to hire a Jillian Barberie as your chief meteorologist in a volatile weather region? Dick Fletcher -- who I personally couldn't stand -- had a reputation. Paul Delagatto and the boys at 13 have a long running reputation (and the legacy of Roy Leep).

[HARTride 2012]

What's been going on at both WFLA and WTSP is really insane in the fact that their personailties are getting shuffled around and others getting the boot. It did outrage me that WTSP kicked out Jen Howe like that. I think she will leave the bay area in favor of some out-of-state station that will give her more exposure. Shoot, the same thing happened to Gemma Guadette who also once anchored the morning program. She ended up leaving WTSP in disgust if I'm not mistaken.

The traffic department has also gone through...how many anchors now? I think they are at number 4 now.

[DShenise]

And somehow she survives....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1-sjDpUOcA

Oh, I forgot she looks great in a halter top and shortskirt (an image I'll always cherish). AMC Westshore, I forgot the movie but I'll never forget the legs and slender back.

[HARTride 2012]

WTSP Forecasts To Take New Direction


Tammie Souza says she is ready to take the weather forecasting at WTSP, Channel 10, in a new direction.

By WALT BELCHER

wbelcher@tampatrib.com

Published: November 1, 2008

Updated:

TAMPA - Tammie Souza says she is ready to take the weather forecasting at WTSP, Channel 10, in a new direction.

"It's going to be a team effort here, and there will be more involvement from the public," says Souza, who is scheduled to go on air Monday as the first female chief meteorologist in the Tampa-St. Petersburg television market.

She is one of about a dozen female chief meteorologists working at television stations throughout the country.

Souza, who arrived in the Tampa Bay area this week from Chicago, says it's daunting taking on the position held by the late Dick Fletcher, who died after a stroke in February. Fletcher had been with WTSP for nearly 30 years.

"I am not replacing Dick Fletcher," Souza says. "No one can. This amazing man was a legend. And although I never met him, I knew of him and respected him. And I think we shared the same kind of passion for the weather. I am very fortunate and humbled to follow in his footsteps."

Souza can't say exactly what changes are in store for the station's weather coverage. "We have lots of ideas that we've been discussing, but we want to move slow and steady and let the viewers get to know me," she says. "It's important that the public feels comfortable with me."

At NBC affiliate WMAQ in Chicago, she was known for recruiting viewers as weather watchers who contributed temperature and rainfall reports. She also visited hundreds of schools with an interactive weather presentation: "Weather With Class."

Sousa arrives as WTSP is changing its branding image from "Tampa Bay's 10" to "10 Connects," an effort to connect with viewers. As part of an overhaul of the weather staff, WTSP let go forecasters Anna Allen and Randy Rauch.

Born in Pittsburgh and raised in San Diego, Souza is certified by the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association.

A four-time Chicago Emmy winner, she spent six years - 2000 to 2006 - as the weekend meteorologist there and nearly two years at Fox affiliate WFLD in Chicago.

Her husband, Greg, is an industrial arts teacher who will remain in Chicago until the school year ends in the spring. Her sister, Patty, formerly of WFTV in Orlando, is a meteorologist at KXTV in Sacramento. They are the only siblings nationwide delivering weather on television.

She says her interest in science comes from her father, a University of Miami graduate who became an engineer and worked with the Apollo space program.

Souza, who earned a pilot's license while in college, says her interest in weather began when her grandfather would take her up in his airplane.

"After covering blizzards and tornadoes, I am excited about the chance to experience tropical weather," she says.

"Tammie has impressive credentials along with an engaging personality," says WTSP General Manager Sam Rosenwasser. "She is someone who has the training and experience you can trust during times of severe weather, and enjoy during calmer days. We are very excited to have her joining us."

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813 259-7654.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/nov...on/news-metro/

[DShenise]

Maybe she can get her viewers to go stand out in tropical storms, holding onto the nearest stop sign, and she can stay dry in the studio. Should save WTSP a little on their liability coverage, and be a great learning experience of the community.

[HARTride 2012]

I wonder what Linda Gialenella thinks about all this as she get shoved off WFTS's weekend circuit?