A longtime west Michigan weatherman criticized recent job cuts at his station and announced his departure in a social media post on Saturday.
Kevin Craig said he was told his contract at WXMI-TV Fox 17 in Grand Rapids was not being renewed in May and his last day on air was Aug. 4.
“No reason was given, but the writing was on the wall as automation is taking over. The new format has been visible for the past few weeks with these recorded news and weather segments,” Craig posted on Facebook.
Craig said he had been at the station 25.5 years.
WXMI-TV is part of the E. W. Scripps Co., which announced Aug. 4 it was cutting 268 employees nationwide, including positions in Michigan, as the company reshapes its local operations around streaming, centralized digital production and automation, including the use of artificial intelligence.
The company confirmed positions were impacted at WXYZ-TV (Ch. 7) in Detroit as well as WXMI-TV (Ch. 17) in Grand Rapids.
In a letter Aug. 4, Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson told employees that the cuts are part of a transformation plan to make operations more sustainable.
“268 colleagues we work alongside are losing their jobs,” Symson wrote in the message. “These are teammates who have helped build and serve this company in important ways, and we are deeply grateful for everything they have contributed.”
In his Facebook post, Craig said when staff gets cut, the remaining employees get additional responsibilities and “we all just do more. That only works for so long before burnout sets in and it becomes unsustainable. I know, I’ve lived it for decades working double shifts, triple shifts, and AM and PM shifts combined for weeks, weekends, holidays, and everything in between.
“But there comes a point where it simply doesn’t matter anymore. With the implementation of AI and automation to prerecorded newscasts and canned reports, the broadcast industry tries to do more with less, and stops valuing the longevity, knowledge, and dedication of veteran employees.”
Craig said he started in radio in Detroit in 1993, went to radio stations in Ohio and then to TV news in West Virginia, Illinois, and Wisconsin before moving to Grand Rapids.
He said he has “weathered many storms at FOX 17 (pun intended), including four general managers, six news directors, and 19 meteorologists through our department” and will miss his coworkers and viewers.
“I want to thank everyone that has ever watched my forecasts, written me, followed me on social media, or said hello and met me. I had the privilege since March 2001, and the trust of each person to deliver a forecast and come into your household everyday to be part of your family,” Craig said on Facebook. “I never took it lightly.”
He said his final weather segments can be found on YouTube and he plans to continue posting news, weather and personal things on his Facebook page.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: West Michigan weatherman describes his ouster, layoffs this week
Reporting by The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
