TVLurker 389 Posted January 14 Posted January 14 (edited) This topic is for the ongoing scandals of the Fort Myers Broadcasting Company/Sun Broadcasting stations and the attempted purchase of WFTX that is ongoing. Edited January 14 by TVLurker 1
Recovering Producer 410 Posted January 14 Posted January 14 I’ve worked for them. It was a long time ago, and a first post college job, so my naive 20 something mind at the time thought the whole experience was just how things were everywhere. The culture of the Fort Myers market is weird. I legitimately thought the Anchorman fighting in the street scene would happen eventually and on that day it would make snowbird season traffic on McGregor Blvd. or US 41 even worse than usual. The demographics of the market are odd with a large seasonal population and wild sprawling growth over the last half century. (It was a 130s market in the 1980s, now almost a top 50) I’m too far removed to have any inside information about the events leading up to the termination of their now former chief meteorologist. I did not work with him. I have not met or interacted with him. I can count the people who would know me in that operation on one hand, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to fish for information. I will say this I worked for half a dozen companies in my TV career, including time as a manager, broadcast employers are highly risk averse regarding terminations with cause of a non probationary employee where they intend to hire a replacement for the position. It is a deliberate and intentionally slow process which requires extensive documenting of the employee’s unwanted actions/behavior, written warnings and/or other disciplinary measures, unsuccessful completion of a PIP that can last several months, and corporate HR/legal review and approval before a decision is made to terminate with cause. Employers are far more likely to passive aggressively nudge people they want to leave by making them unhappy through schedule changes, reduced visibility, decreased responsibilities, or other ‘soft’ actions in hopes they will voluntarily resign . Contract non-renewal is also used as an alternative when necessary. The potential legal exposure is much greater for employers to discuss in public what they say led to a termination compared to a former employee or their supporters sharing their version of events. Which is why that perspective is going to gain traction and control the public narrative. Actions have consequences for both parties. It appears the consequences for WINK, at least for now, are very real. Whether those consequences endure is anyone’s guess. People are a weird mix of never forgetting and moving on quickly. My only meaningful observation from the reaction is this: The unfiltered parasocial relationships between Facebook fans and on air talent is one of the most problematic, unhealthy, and unsustainable parts of the 21st century broadcast media landscape. It is something leadership industry wide has opted to embrace at the most toxic form and refuses to develop solutions to create boundaries on how much social media engagement consumes many people at all times and how to protect people from unhinged online fans who do not respect reasonable behavioral norms. As for the Sun WFTX acquisition: It is what it is. Every company that wants to grow is going to push existing rules to the limit as they stand now, and any future changes to ownership regulations will cause the dam to break nationwide on consolidation and operations/newsrooms being merged or eliminated. 3
tyrannical bastard 4676 Posted January 14 Posted January 14 My view of SWFL is that of a very large Midwestern retiree population. Is that a correct assessment? And with that, a large number of them share the same "views" as the McBride's...well except when they fire the popular weather guy for a stupid reason. 3
newsman123 142 Posted January 14 Posted January 14 6 hours ago, Recovering Producer said: I’ve worked for them. It was a long time ago, and a first post college job, so my naive 20 something mind at the time thought the whole experience was just how things were everywhere. The culture of the Fort Myers market is weird. I legitimately thought the Anchorman fighting in the street scene would happen eventually and on that day it would make snowbird season traffic on McGregor Blvd. or US 41 even worse than usual. The demographics of the market are odd with a large seasonal population and wild sprawling growth over the last half century. (It was a 130s market in the 1980s, now almost a top 50) I’m too far removed to have any inside information about the events leading up to the termination of their now former chief meteorologist. I did not work with him. I have not met or interacted with him. I can count the people who would know me in that operation on one hand, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to fish for information. I will say this I worked for half a dozen companies in my TV career, including time as a manager, broadcast employers are highly risk averse regarding terminations with cause of a non probationary employee where they intend to hire a replacement for the position. It is a deliberate and intentionally slow process which requires extensive documenting of the employee’s unwanted actions/behavior, written warnings and/or other disciplinary measures, unsuccessful completion of a PIP that can last several months, and corporate HR/legal review and approval before a decision is made to terminate with cause. Employers are far more likely to passive aggressively nudge people they want to leave by making them unhappy through schedule changes, reduced visibility, decreased responsibilities, or other ‘soft’ actions in hopes they will voluntarily resign . Contract non-renewal is also used as an alternative when necessary. The potential legal exposure is much greater for employers to discuss in public what they say led to a termination compared to a former employee or their supporters sharing their version of events. Which is why that perspective is going to gain traction and control the public narrative. Actions have consequences for both parties. It appears the consequences for WINK, at least for now, are very real. Whether those consequences endure is anyone’s guess. People are a weird mix of never forgetting and moving on quickly. My only meaningful observation from the reaction is this: The unfiltered parasocial relationships between Facebook fans and on air talent is one of the most problematic, unhealthy, and unsustainable parts of the 21st century broadcast media landscape. It is something leadership industry wide has opted to embrace at the most toxic form and refuses to develop solutions to create boundaries on how much social media engagement consumes many people at all times and how to protect people from unhinged online fans who do not respect reasonable behavioral norms. As for the Sun WFTX acquisition: It is what it is. Every company that wants to grow is going to push existing rules to the limit as they stand now, and any future changes to ownership regulations will cause the dam to break nationwide on consolidation and operations/newsrooms being merged or eliminated. I worked for Waterman 20 years ago. My first job. I left after two years because it was such a toxic sweatshop (and I got better and moved on). But the Anchorman reference is spot on! It was an odd mix of young kids looking to move up and out, and old lifers with HUGE egos. The competition between BBH and WINK was obsessive to management. As for this weatherman.. it will blow over. Viewers love to say “Im never watching again!” and they do. And I agree.. a station doesn't just fire their most popular talent unless they have a reason. Its not money.. WINK has plenty of it. The whole.. he was taking long dinner breaks.. thats an excuse to fire him. Not a reason. If he was so valuable to them.. they wouldnt care how long he took. 5
Recovering Producer 410 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 12 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said: My view of SWFL is that of a very large Midwestern retiree population. Is that a correct assessment? And with that, a large number of them share the same "views" as the McBride's...well except when they fire the popular weather guy for a stupid reason. I haven't lived there since 2011, so my assessment is dated. But from Thanksgiving to Easter there were a lot of out of state license plates. The most common I recall seeing were Minnesota, Ohio, and Michigan. From what I have been told, there has been a substantial increase in non retirement age year-round residents, especially in the last five years. The three coastal counties of the market that make up 90%+ of the market's population; Lee (Fort Myers/Cape Coral/Lehigh Acres), Collier (Naples/Marco Island), and Charlotte (Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte) consistently vote Republican in the 55-65% range.
Megatron81 343 Posted January 19 Posted January 19 Even Newt chimed in on the WINK firing of the chief met. Thanks for the info for the few that worked at WINK and the FT. Myers area. My stepsister grandparents would go to FT. Myers during the winter months this was in the 80s & 90s almost did go visit them when first going to FL for Disney World in Jan of 90 but didn't. Sorry going off topic.
l_miro 245 Posted January 25 Posted January 25 On 1/14/2026 at 3:52 AM, Recovering Producer said: I’ve worked for them. It was a long time ago, and a first post college job, so my naive 20 something mind at the time thought the whole experience was just how things were everywhere. The culture of the Fort Myers market is weird. I legitimately thought the Anchorman fighting in the street scene would happen eventually and on that day it would make snowbird season traffic on McGregor Blvd. or US 41 even worse than usual. The demographics of the market are odd with a large seasonal population and wild sprawling growth over the last half century. (It was a 130s market in the 1980s, now almost a top 50) I’m too far removed to have any inside information about the events leading up to the termination of their now former chief meteorologist. I did not work with him. I have not met or interacted with him. I can count the people who would know me in that operation on one hand, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to fish for information. I will say this I worked for half a dozen companies in my TV career, including time as a manager, broadcast employers are highly risk averse regarding terminations with cause of a non probationary employee where they intend to hire a replacement for the position. It is a deliberate and intentionally slow process which requires extensive documenting of the employee’s unwanted actions/behavior, written warnings and/or other disciplinary measures, unsuccessful completion of a PIP that can last several months, and corporate HR/legal review and approval before a decision is made to terminate with cause. Employers are far more likely to passive aggressively nudge people they want to leave by making them unhappy through schedule changes, reduced visibility, decreased responsibilities, or other ‘soft’ actions in hopes they will voluntarily resign . Contract non-renewal is also used as an alternative when necessary. The potential legal exposure is much greater for employers to discuss in public what they say led to a termination compared to a former employee or their supporters sharing their version of events. Which is why that perspective is going to gain traction and control the public narrative. Actions have consequences for both parties. It appears the consequences for WINK, at least for now, are very real. Whether those consequences endure is anyone’s guess. People are a weird mix of never forgetting and moving on quickly. My only meaningful observation from the reaction is this: The unfiltered parasocial relationships between Facebook fans and on air talent is one of the most problematic, unhealthy, and unsustainable parts of the 21st century broadcast media landscape. It is something leadership industry wide has opted to embrace at the most toxic form and refuses to develop solutions to create boundaries on how much social media engagement consumes many people at all times and how to protect people from unhinged online fans who do not respect reasonable behavioral norms. As for the Sun WFTX acquisition: It is what it is. Every company that wants to grow is going to push existing rules to the limit as they stand now, and any future changes to ownership regulations will cause the dam to break nationwide on consolidation and operations/newsrooms being merged or eliminated. all of this. I ran into WPLG's new thing the other day - one of their new meteorologists who's arguably wrapped in her own persona starts her social media forecasts as "your weather bestie". The comments are skin crawling. Not as bad as the post of another onair talent, I forget which station but wasn't in Miami, replying back to a creepy guy's comment about her beautiful feet with thanks and heart emojis Actually, еven 10 years ago you could tell people were commenting in a way to elicit response and get noticed by talent. I'm starting to think they're all building a sycophant following and that's pretty much who's left watching linear broadcast.
tyrannical bastard 4676 Posted January 26 Posted January 26 (edited) More on the Matt Devitt firing. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2026/1/25/wink-responds-to-anchor-firing While they may be justified with this evidence, it's going to be Matt Devitt having the last laugh. These digital weather services are the wave of the future. Edited January 26 by tyrannical bastard
MediaZone4K 2661 Posted January 26 Posted January 26 (edited) On 1/14/2026 at 3:52 AM, Recovering Producer said: The unfiltered parasocial relationships between Facebook fans and on air talent is one of the most problematic, unhealthy, and unsustainable parts of the 21st century broadcast media landscape. It is something leadership industry wide has opted to embrace at the most toxic form and refuses to develop solutions to create boundaries on how much social media engagement consumes many people at all times and how to protect people from unhinged online fans who do not respect reasonable behavioral norms. I used to be opposed to talent developing a personal following on social media. I thought it encouraged reporters to be celebrities rather than journalists and encouraged the audience to seek personal narrative over professional work. I've evolved to think that it's good for journalists to build a following as linear tv gets more irrelevant and content creators get larger viewership. It also allows journalists to get monetization and cover stories they like without the intercessor of a news organization or the control of a news director. Social media can also be a source of income and an outlet for one's work during periods of unemployment like being in between contracts. I'm an advocate of separate social medias pages. A private page for all your personal stuff, and a public page for the journalist's work and brand. Totally agree that social media boundaries must be set. News stations literally leave the comments sections open with no check on sexual comments or racist trolls. Just some thoughts, not the gospel. Edited January 26 by MediaZone4K 2
Recovering Producer 410 Posted January 26 Posted January 26 5 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said: More on the Matt Devitt firing. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2026/1/25/wink-responds-to-anchor-firing The fact the station put out an internal statement that anyone with a single brain cell knew would QUICKLY end up being screengrabbed and shared externally is wild. Just. Absolutely. Wild. From my experience, any post termination communication beyond "so and so is no longer an employee of station" with a possible "we wish them well in their future" second sentence used most likely in the case of a budget layoff is unheard of. I had GMs and NDs who thought even that written communication was too much potential legal exposure and only communicated abrupt employee departures verbally. 2
nathannah 2792 Posted January 26 Posted January 26 And now WINK has escalated to some kind of DEFCON since the station possibly has removed his Facebook page; it's standard operating procedure but a little petty. 1 2
l_miro 245 Posted January 27 Posted January 27 17 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said: More on the Matt Devitt firing. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2026/1/25/wink-responds-to-anchor-firing While they may be justified with this evidence, it's going to be Matt Devitt having the last laugh. These digital weather services are the wave of the future. He Used company time, tried poaching employees while actively employed - meaning those he approached reported him to HR WINK will have to sign away their rights to whatever he was building. if he really did sign an acknowledgement letter, his agent/lawyer cleared it, anyone partaking with equity in the venture is fully exposed to litigation and more than likely doesn't own what they invested in And he keeps talking, after WINK took his Facebook page 1 3
l_miro 245 Posted January 27 Posted January 27 12 hours ago, Recovering Producer said: The fact the station put out an internal statement that anyone with a single brain cell knew would QUICKLY end up being screengrabbed and shared externally is wild. Just. Absolutely. Wild. From my experience, any post termination communication beyond "so and so is no longer an employee of station" with a possible "we wish them well in their future" second sentence used most likely in the case of a budget layoff is unheard of. I had GMs and NDs who thought even that written communication was too much potential legal exposure and only communicated abrupt employee departures verbally. In the future lawsuit WINK: "we communicated internally to protect staff..." Who are apparently getting harassed in DMs. It goes both ways Devitt chose to go online and lie he was blindsided, when in reality he wasn't. WINK warned him repeatedly going back to 2024, and coworkers reported him to HR. He could have gone to his page and said he decided a year ago not to renew, that he and WINK decided to separate 2 months early before his contract expired, and that he will have an exciting announcement soon. Now he's making it sound as if his FB page was taken by WINK, when it could be Meta disabling it because he was verified as a WINK News asset. I wonder if his agent dropped him, he's not behaving like someone who is being advised 2 2
Recovering Producer 410 Posted January 27 Posted January 27 10 hours ago, l_miro said: In the future lawsuit WINK: "we communicated internally to protect staff..." Who are apparently getting harassed in DMs. It goes both ways Devitt chose to go online and lie he was blindsided, when in reality he wasn't. WINK warned him repeatedly going back to 2024, and coworkers reported him to HR. He could have gone to his page and said he decided a year ago not to renew, that he and WINK decided to separate 2 months early before his contract expired, and that he will have an exciting announcement soon. Now he's making it sound as if his FB page was taken by WINK, when it could be Meta disabling it because he was verified as a WINK News asset. I wonder if his agent dropped him, he's not behaving like someone who is being advised I probably wasn't super clear with my last post - I think they put that memo out to staff with the mentality the inevitable screengrab leak of their version of events would be a feature, not a flaw. If they didn't want it out there, it is really easy for any company's IT admin to block screengrabs from the Outlook app and force people to only use that app for work email. 2
Recovering Producer 410 Posted January 31 Posted January 31 The FCC approved the sale of WFTX to Sun Broadcasting on January 30, 2026. https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/assignmentDraftCopy?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff399118e35019915385ddd01d4&id=25076ff399118e35019915385ddd01d4&goBack=N Companies like deals to close as a month changes, but that's never a guarantee. Seems unlikely to close as January turns to February on such short notice, but who knows. I would guess this deal will close no later than March 1, 2026.
Recovering Producer 410 Posted February 27 Posted February 27 (edited) If listings on TitanTV are accurate, it will be a very quick end for WFTX/Fox4 News when the deal closes (per the terms of the asset purchase agreement) on March 1. They show the currently on WXCW hours of WINK News being simulcast on WXCW and WFTX from 7-11 a.m., and 10-11 p.m., and a WFTX only newscast from 6:30 - 7 pm. starting Tuesday March 3. I suspect the final broadcasts of Fox4 News will take place on Friday. (Of course no one can say much, if anything, about what happens until the deal is closed) WFTX anchor Amy Wegmann posted about cleaning out her desk on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B1w4N3Rts/ Edited February 27 by Recovering Producer 1
TheRolyPoly 3510 Posted February 27 Posted February 27 7 hours ago, Recovering Producer said: If listings on TitanTV are accurate, it will be a very quick end for WFTX/Fox4 News when the deal closes (per the terms of the asset purchase agreement) on March 1. They show the currently on WXCW hours of WINK News being simulcast on WXCW and WFTX from 7-11 a.m., and 10-11 p.m., and a WFTX only newscast from 6:30 - 7 pm. starting Tuesday March 3. I suspect the final broadcasts of Fox4 News will take place on Friday. WFTX anchor Amy Wegmann posted about cleaning out her desk on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B1w4N3Rts/ So if this is true and accurate, that means that WINK will be producing five hours of local news every weekday afternoon/evening (3:00-6:30 on WINK, 6:30-7:00 on WFTX (meaning WINK goes back to producing that newscast), 7:00-7:30 on WINK, 7:30-8:00 p.m. on WXCW)
MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie 1158 Posted February 27 Posted February 27 19 hours ago, Recovering Producer said: If listings on TitanTV are accurate, it will be a very quick end for WFTX/Fox4 News when the deal closes (per the terms of the asset purchase agreement) on March 1. They show the currently on WXCW hours of WINK News being simulcast on WXCW and WFTX from 7-11 a.m., and 10-11 p.m., and a WFTX only newscast from 6:30 - 7 pm. starting Tuesday March 3. I suspect the final broadcasts of Fox4 News will take place on Friday. WFTX anchor Amy Wegmann posted about cleaning out her desk on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B1w4N3Rts/ I just had to post the reaction of a local viewer about her post 1 1 8
Recovering Producer 410 Posted March 2 Posted March 2 And Sun broadcasting officially owns WFTX. Stay tuned to see how fast changes happen. https://scripps.com/press-releases/scripps-completes-sale-of-wftx-in-fort-myers-naples-to-sun-broadcasting/
LocalNewsNerd7000 159 Posted March 3 Posted March 3 For FOX4, yesterday was the final day in the Cape studios. Today, WINK on FOX4 debuted from WINK studios in Gateway. It seems, according to social media posts from FOX4 talent, that they’ll move across town (for now), too. 1
JRyan 694 Posted March 4 Posted March 4 With the move to WINK studios, WFTX has adopted a new brand. They're now going by the name Fox Florida. 1
DucNguyen0131 65 Posted March 4 Posted March 4 34 minutes ago, JRyan said: With the move to WINK studios, WFTX has adopted a new brand. They're now going by the name Fox Florida. Oh, I see! We got some exclusive WINK-made newscasts on the newly acquired station.
MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie 1158 Posted March 5 Posted March 5 On 3/4/2026 at 5:51 AM, JRyan said: With the move to WINK studios, WFTX has adopted a new brand. They're now going by the name Fox Florida. Again... why?!?! They barely cover a fraction of the state?!?! I would see this more for WOFL or heck even WSVN 3 1
MediaZone4K 2661 Posted March 5 Posted March 5 Why not Fox Ft Myers. It keeps the alliteration intact. 1
Recovering Producer 410 Posted March 5 Posted March 5 3 hours ago, MediaZone4K said: Why not Fox Ft Myers. It keeps the alliteration intact. Any Fort Myers only branding would alienate a large portion of the potential audience. Fort Myers isn’t the largest city in the DMA. Cape Coral is the largest city in the market by far. Lehigh Acres, which isn’t an incorporated city, also has more people than the city of Fort Myers. That said, there are large portions of unincorporated Lee County that have a Fort Myers mailing address. As for Fox Florida… if the domain name is available and no one else is branding that way, why not? Less is more. 10 letter domain name. Two words. Alliteration. Says what the product is, still a clear change and a clean slate from the Fox4 News brand the WINK/Sun McSchwartzel leadership team wants people to forget was a thing. 4
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