Businesses Pulls Ads from Sinclair Station
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On Friday, FTVLive told you how WICS (Springfield, Illinois) Meteorologist Joe Crain called out his station’s owner Sinclair on the air over a corporate mandate as to how the company stations handle weather forecast.
The longtime Weather Anchor went on the air and criticized the station’s “Code Red” weather warning system. He told viewers that it was a “corporate initiative” that “doesn’t recognize that not all storms are equal” and has generated widespread complaints.
“So we want you to know it’s not us,” Crain said during a morning broadcast on a day that actually would see severe weather later. “This is a corporate initiative, the Code Red alert. And behind the scenes, many of us have tried to dissuade it for the last few months, to try something else that’s less controversial to the viewers.”
Crain’s status with the station is unclear, but he has not been seen on the air since the incident. One source tells FTVLive that he has been “suspended for speaking the truth.” Another source says that Crain has been fired. Sinclair is not commenting on Crain’s status with the station.
Now some local businesses are responding by pulling their ads from WICS air and they are not happy. Lucy Stafford, one of the owners of Central Illinois Ace Hardware, said the company decided to, at least temporarily, suspend its advertising with WICS.
“I think we’re just going to see how Joe gets treated and what happens before we make our final decision,” Stafford said.
Springfield home improvement company Sutton’s announced it was pulling its advertising from WICS. Sutton’s had sponsored the channel’s seven-day forecast.
“Corporate executives make irresponsible decisions without taking into account what the local viewers are feeling. That arrogance needs to stop. Joe Crain treated our sponsorship like it was very important. He was out in the community representing WICS-TV with class and dignity. His final act was to engage his viewers and recognize their concerns and he gets cut. That is ridiculous,” Sutton’s marketing director Max Bumgardner said.
In addition to advertisers, other local businesses have also taken to social media to support Crain. Engrained Brewery & Restaurant wrote Friday that “our community needs journalists who are honest, candid, and more than corporate spokespeople.”
So far 7 businesses have pulled their ads from the Sinclair station.
