SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - An Illinois broadcast meteorologist who lost his job after criticizing a weather alert system put out a joint statement with the station that fired him saying they’ve “resolved their differences.”
WICS-TV in Springfield and former station meteorologist Joe Crain say in the Monday joint statement that they’ve reached a “private agreement” and are “moving on from their dispute.”
Sinclair Broadcast Group owns WICS-TV. Last month Crain said Sinclair’s “Code Red” weather-alert brand was alarmist, imprecise and failed to recognize storms’ varying degrees.
Crain’s absence unleashed social-media protests, petitions demanding his return and advertiser boycotts. Crain thanked the community for the support in Monday’s statement. The station said it was “unfortunate” how events unfolded.
WICS-TV’s general manager has said the station would replace “Code Red” with a “Weather Warn” banner and managers would improve geographic specificity of alerts.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.