AUSTINRHODES
The views expressed are the opinions of Austin Rhodes and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.
Wither Matt Monroe? Here is a little tip from a 25-year media veteran to all media company general managers and heads of personnel: If you ever have to terminate or part ways with a popular and wellknown broadcast personality, it is to your infinite benefit to give them a very well publicized going away party, and a big-ass check to buy their acquiescence. Concerning the bizarre exit of veteran WJBF weatherman Matt Monroe, there has not been a more talked about TV “departure” in the Augusta market since Charley Britt was canned at Channel 12 over 20 years ago. I have had personal conversations with over a dozen current and former Channel 6 employees about this Monroe cluster-muck, going back to early July when I first learned about the decision not to renew his contract. To a person, the man is respected, admired and, dare I say, beloved. There was not one single person who said anything bad about him. Period. But his bosses said he had to go, and in his place, we have a bright, shining
new face that will spend the next six months learning the difference between Harlem and Hephzibah. Beautiful. Social media and its prominence in our ever-changing, interactive world is allowing pissed-off consumers to talk directly back to local broadcast executives who not so long ago were able to make decisions (good and bad) in relative obscurity. Well... maybe it would have been, if it weren’t for Facebook. To say Matt Monroe’s ouster has gone over like a lead weather balloon would be an understatement. My own mother-in-law has fussed about Channel 6 management every time she sees me, wanting to know if I had gotten to the bottom of why they did what they did, and if I would share that with the world. I have known for a while that Matt was a dead weatherman forecasting, but I was hoping, much like he was, that someone in management over there would wake up and see they were making a mistake. They never did. I had an hour-long conversation with
Matt that airs Thursday on my afternoon radio show; the upshot is this: Matt, gracious gentleman that he is, absolutely refuses to say anything even remotely unflattering about his 14-year morning news partner Mary Morrison. That said, I have been told point blank by people who have worked directly with both Matt and Mary that tension between the two of them, and Matt’s inability and/or refusal to visibly reach out and “make happy” on the air, is the specific and direct reason he was let go. Mary Morrison hard to work with? That does seem a bit hard to believe, but I am told that Mary’s reputation and demands as a perfectionist are the main reasons the morning news recently lost a key producer. She hated putting together the news with Morrison, and that is widely known by virtually everyone who worked with her. Matt Monroe artfully dodges the direct question when asked if his lack of communication and possible conflict with Morrison is the reason he was let go. Perhaps we should ask Mary if
she did anything to intervene and save Matt’s job? Yep... Mary, consider yourself asked. One last thing: I am appalled that a respected institution like WJBF would “peacefully” part ways with a 14-year pristine-clean and faithful employee like Matt Monroe and give him virtually nothing in the form of severance pay. Seriously? Let me put this in perspective for you: My company recently laid off well-known radio bad boy Jordan Zeh. Jordan is a talented broadcaster, a personal friend and, by his own admission, at times a train wreck. Jordan Zeh was given a severance package.
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