In fact, we allowed April to perform her weather anchor duties from home as we explored her concerns,"Īfter she criticized the station, she launched a fundraiser on the Christian site GiveSendGo and to date has raised more than $126,000.Özet: Ben Bailey Smith, Actor: Persuasion. Any suggestion that she was in any way a victim of 'discrimination' due to her concerns about these policies is completely false. "April Moss objected to WWJ-TV's policies regarding Covid-19 testing and wearing masks inside our station, which are based on CDC, state and local guidelines. The station issued a statement after her firing: She said she was being discriminated against because of the station's policy on Covid testing. In June, CBS Detroit fired weekend meteorologist April Moss for public criticism of parent company ViacomCBS on the air and online. He's the second weather forecaster to depart a Detroit station in recent months. broadcast, but was only done later because of Olympics programming.īailey, a University of Missouri graduate, worked at Fox 2 before coming to WDIV in 2014 to replace the beloved Chuck Gaidica, who retired. Drutz sent an email to staff announcing his departure just hours before Bailey's announcement.ĭrutz said his announcement would have normally come during the 11 p.m. Usually a big announcement and farewell is made on the air and at a time when more viewers will see it - not at 1 a.m. He went on to say: "My brother asked me, he said 'what's next for you?' And I told him, 'less makeup and more whiskey.'"Ĭompared to other popular on-air talent at WDIV, Bailey's departure was low-key. on a Saturday morning from my house, I would have said 'crazy.' Covid's been crazy, so it almost seems like it's been appropriate." "Tonight is my last broadcast here on Local 4, and if you told me 30 years ago when I took my first job in this business that I would be ending my career at 1 a.m. Saturday during a late broadcast after the Olympics, but did not say why he was leaving his job, which paid a six-figure salary. He did a meritorious job."Īttempts to reach Bailey Saturday for comment were unsuccessful.īailey announced his resignation around 1 a.m. "I just think he was looking for a different opportunity. "Ben’s been thinking about this for a while," Drutz said. Marla Drutz, the station's general manager, said she was unaware of Bailey's vaccination status and that his departure isn't "related per se to any kind of masking rules." She said he worked mostly at the downtown Detroit station, instead of at home, the past six months, though his final broadcast was from home. Sources familiar with Bailey's work situation said he had differences with the NBC affiliate's workplace Covid policy, which requires the unvaccinated to wear masks. He did not provide a reason, and the station said the split was amicable. "I've been talking to management for a while and we decided as the Olympics came to a close this would probably be a good time for me to say so long." "This really hasn't been a spur-of-the-moment decision for me," he told viewers. WDIV's lead meteorologist Ben Bailey, who has been at the station for seven years, announced early Saturday morning that he's leaving immediately.
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