Al Roker is perhaps one of the few weathermen in America that have a devoted fan base. His stint on “The Today Show” has allowed him to become a trustworthy face and voice for viewers when it comes to weather and news. But his job on cable TV’s The Weather Channel apparently is now over and the cause may be over an email fight made public.
According to the media outlet NewsBlues, Roker got into a heated email exchange with Weather Channel President David Clark. Roker wanted to go to New Orleans to cover the 10th anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, which devastated New Orleans. However, Clark was opposed to Roker going to New Orleans for filming the segment. A series of emails were exchanged, which exposed the inner workings of The Weather Channel.
According to NewsBlues, the email exchange went as follows:
Roker: “I don’t understand why Steph [Abrams] and I aren’t together on the actual anniversary day of Katrina’s landfall [in New Orleans]. There is nothing happening Saturday in Florida…’I could not disagree more with this decision. We will have a phalanx of people talking about a storm Saturday that our graphic will show is not possibly making landfall till Monday…if then. Viewers aren’t stupid. They can see when potential landfall is, assuming it holds together… In the meantime, there are a lot of stories to tell about Katrina while pivoting to Erika… The reason we are in the trouble we’re in is an intransigence of management when it comes to a decision and an unwillingness to pivot.”
To which Clark responded: “If you disagree with a decision you are welcome to speak up, you have more than earned the right to do so, but this is out of line and not how we do things here.”
This caused a reaction from Roker in which he wrote: “Really David. You want to try and spank me in front of people. You want to do this?”
Unfortunately, Roker hit the “Reply To All” button and his email exchange with Clark went to everybody at The Weather Channel. Roker apparently realized his error and sent out the following email:
“Folks, I want to apologize if I embarrassed anyone. I didn’t mean for this to be a public argument. I replied on a cc: that I didn’t mean to. We all want the same thing, best possible product, and a real outcome for our viewers. Hey, the good news is, you all read your emails.”
Clark responded:
“Thank you for that Al, respect…We are all on edge right now. Don’t mind open dissent when constructive and we want your best thinking on this storm. As you say, let’s get focused on making the best product and move forward and thank you for being on the team.”
However Roker’s “Wake Up With Al” show was canceled a few days later. Roker then sent out the following email:
“It is with great disappointment that I have to announce that this is my last TV broadcast on the Weather Channel. I don’t know exactly where I’m going next… I am saying goodbye, for now.”
