It's called "hubbing." This innocent-sounding term means that weather information will come from a central hub (elsewhere) rather than from local forecasters.
Hubbing is hitting a major local station in Alabama and 20 other stations all over the nation. Viewers of WAAY-TV in Huntsville will no longer get their weather from a local source. It will come out of Atlanta from The Weather Channel.
Allen Media Group owns The Weather Channel, WAAY and 38 TV stations nationally. They have decided to cut local meteorologists in 22 of those stations.
Allen Media also owns WCOV-TV in Montgomery, which has already cut its meteorologists.
In addition to local newscasts being based on Atlanta-gathered information, the Atlanta-based weather personalities cannot go out to towns in local viewing areas and do programs for schools, civic clubs and other groups.
Here are the stations owned by Allen Media Group that will suffer cuts to local weather staff:
WTVA Tupelo, MS
KIMT Rochester, MN/Mason City, IA
KEZI Eugene, OR
KDRV/KDKF Medford, OR
KHSL/KNVN Chico / Redding, CA
WTHI Terre Haute, IN
WLFI West Lafayette, IN
WFFT Fort Wayne, IN
WAAY Huntsville, AL
WEVV Evansville, IN
KADN Lafayette, LA
KITV/KIKU Honolulu, HI
WAOW Wausau, WI
WQOW Eau Claire, WI
WKOW Madison, WI
WXOW La Crosse, WI
WSIL Carterville, IL
KVOA Tucson, AZ
WREX Rockford, IL
KWWL Waterloo, IA
WJRT Flint, MI
WCOV Montgomery, AL* Already cut.
Allen Media's 38 stations are in mid-size to small markets across the country. In 2024, it had already been quietly cutting various local staff jobs, including managers, anchors and forecasters.
Amber Kulick of WAAY-TV in Huntsville posted the explanation of the Alabama situation:
Let’s address the elephant in the room.
By now most of you have probably seen the chatter about Allen media letting local meteorologists go, well I am one that will be affected by this. For now I am still at the station but I am looking for my next career opportunity. I never imagined I would finally work in Huntsville only to have my time cut short, let me say this I know my management team has done everything they can to make this better but this is at a corporate level so please don’t bad mouth WAAY on this post. I’ll land on my feet I always do. If you know of anything in the Huntsville area that would be a great fit for a degreed meteorologist let me know. To my friends and family here in north Alabama, I love you and I’m so thankful for your support in this journey I’ll still give you updates on this page and all my social media no matter what I end up doing. I love you all!
Emily Pike of WMTW-TV in Portland, Maine is fighting back. She posted this how-to explanation for citizens who want to oppose the local cutbacks:
If you rely on the news for weather updates, please take note: Allen Media Group (AMG) is laying off most, if not all, local meteorologists across the country. This means local meteorologists are being replaced, which could pose serious risks, especially during severe weather events.
The Weather Channel is becoming a centralized hub, and AMG’s approach may set a trend for other companies. This is happening now and will continue through March when they takeover.
To check if your local station is owned by AMG, search for its call letters. If it is, make sure you have alternative ways to receive weather updates and alerts. If you depend on your trusted local meteorologist for severe weather coverage, they may no longer be there if it’s an AMG-owned station.
Here’s how you can contact the FCC about Allen Media Group’s mismanagement of their stations, which has compromised the station’s public service obligations through actions such as staff reductions and diminished important local news and weather coverage.
You too can file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC oversees broadcast licensees to ensure they operate in the public interest. Federal Communications Commission
Steps to File a Complaint:
1. Prepare Your Complaint:
• Station Details: Include the station’s call sign and its community of license.
• Specific Concerns: Describe the actions taken by Allen Media Group that you believe undermine the station’s service to the community, such as firing key staff or reducing local news content.
FOR EXAMPLE: “Allen Media’s Private Equity scheme is trying to ‘rob Peter (profits from the channel) to pay Paul (taking the money to pay their other debts at their other businesses), which is essentially STEALING local advertising dollars to send them to L.A.—carelessly ripping the heart out of the stations community’s top-rated local news station and longest running 34-year anchor.”
2. Submit Your Complaint:
• Online: The FCC’s Consumer Complaint Center allows you to file complaints electronically.
• By Phone: Call the FCC at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322).
• By Mail: Send your complaint to:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
45 L Street NE
Washington, DC 20554
Additional Considerations:
• Community Engagement: Encourage other concerned community members to file complaints, as a collective effort can have a greater impact.
By submitting a detailed complaint, you can prompt the FCC to investigate whether the local station(s) is meeting obligations to serve the public interest.
Some new leadership at the FCC is expected in the Trump administration.
Other local TV stations owned by conglomerates could follow suit and hub their weather staffs. It will be more difficult for the other syndicates to do hubbing because they do not own The Weather Channel. They would need a central source for weather information.
Jim' Zig' Zeigler writes about Alabama's people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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