It all started about a year ago, when WSMV inexplicably pulled Paul Heggen from the morning show. We weren’t really happy about that, and we did what we could to rally the troops and make our dissatisfaction known. But, about a month after that, they fired Snowbird (how do you fire Snowbird?). Even then, we all thought, “whoever is running the ship over there is making some really dumb decisions.”
But, then all of the harassment and discrimination claims from Demetria Kalodimos, Dennis Ferrier, and Nancy Van Camp came out later in the year, and our stance went from harmless criticism to flat out saying, “there’s something wrong here.”
We covered it all pretty extensively over the course of last Summer and into the beginning of 2018:
We Need to Get Paul Heggen and Dagny Back on WSMV Mornings
Nashville’s WSMV Fires Snowbird; I’ll Be Changing the Channel
WSMV, Seemingly Toxic Workplace, Now Facing Allegations of Age Discrimination Towards Demetria Kalodimos
Demetria Kalodimos Deserved Better from WSMV
But, here we sit, a little less than a year later, and management at WSMV is being taught a lesson in karma. Props to the fine folks at The Tennessean (thanks for those pageviews, guys) for putting together this nice little bullet point recap of all the things these people have done wrong:
► Popular longtime anchor Demetria Kalodimos had a controversial split with the station late last year, saying management left a letter on her desk — with no meeting or conversations — letting her know her contract wouldn’t be renewed.
► Longtime personalities Dennis Ferrier, Jennifer Johnson and Nancy Van Camp filed an age-discrimination lawsuit against Channel 4.
► Popular personalities Rudy Kalis, Paul Heggen and others also parted ways with the station.
► Mascot Snowbird lost his voice when the station laid off the actor who wore the penguin suit for more than 20 years, filling the suit now with interns or any staffer free to do so.
WSMV general manager Dale Woods did not respond to an email and phone calls asking for comment. Kalodimos and News 2 management also didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Still pissed about how poorly Kalodimos, a veritable Nashville icon, was treated. And, the whole thing just reeks of shady business philosophy. Is this really how you want to be known for? Treating the people who actually drive your company like shit? I mean, let’s call a spade a spade. This doesn’t exactly sound like a finely-tuned well-oiled machine.
So, what does this all add up to?
WSMV Channel 4 has lost between 10 percent and 20 percent of its news viewers in the 12 months ending May 23, according to ratings obtained by The Tennessean.
Karma – what goes around comes around. Looks like a lot of the people who said they were changing the channel did change the channel.
Now, I should say, there are some really talented people at WSMV…people who do their job well, people who care about the people of Nashville, and people that have been good to us. Chris Miller may be the nicest sonofabitch to ever come across a Nashville television screen. And, I hope that they aren’t lumped in with management in terms of public perception.
But, you can definitely count me among the 10-20% that have made the switch. My Nashville news loyalty was up for grabs last Fall, and I’ve found a pretty damn good show in Good Morning Nashville on WKRN. Think I’ll stick with them for a while.
I know it may seem like we’re taking a bit of a victory lap here, and maybe we are. But, again, it’s about accountability. Just don’t be a dick to people. If you are, you can count on us to hold you accountable for that.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
Check out the SoBros Shop. Subscribe to our Patreon. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Listen on SoundCloud. Watch on YouTube. Shop our store on Redbubble.
