The Weather Channel Internal Memo
/Weather Channel President David Clark sent out a "confidential" internal memo to the staff at The Weather Channel.
Clark was addressing another round of job cuts made at TWC. Months ago, after a round of cuts happened, FTVLive reported there would be more, the staff was told that was not the case and that there would be no more cuts.
Since then, there has been at least 2 more rounds of layoffs.
In his latest internal memo, he dose not promise that this is the last of the cuts.
Here is the internal memo from Clark:
There is no easy way to deliver today’s message.
TV is changing, and in order for us to compete in the future we need to
re-allocate and focus our resources on what we know our audiences want
most from us. Unfortunately, this focus means reducing the size of our
staff across all functions and levels, and earlier today we informed
some of our colleagues and friends that they no longer have roles in our
organization.These are very difficult decisions, arrived at after a
careful analysis of the entire business. Our primary focus today is on
supporting the people impacted as best as possible. Please give them all
your deepest respect and gratitude.
As an organization, we have been through more than our fair share of
change. Remarkably, it has not even been a full year since we
re-launched the network, implementing some of the most significant
changes in our history. We have refocused on weather, and have
substantially improved engagement with our audience.
However, the pace of change in TV is quickening and we need to continue to
adapt. We are going to get ahead of this challenge by embracing the
“Fewer, Bigger, Bolder” mantra laid out by David Kenny this past
September and focus intensely on the things that can best accelerate our
strategy of growth through engagement.
One of the people we will say goodbye to is Scot Safon, our chief marketing
officer. Once we stepped back from the reductions we were making, Scot
looked at his role and the resources behind it and realized his
senior-level skills and deep experience can be leveraged more fully
elsewhere. As you all have experienced, Scot is a world-class marketer
and leader, and we will miss the benefits of his guidance and insight.
He made tremendous progress in many areas, but in particular in moving
our brand forward with the “It’s Amazing Out There” positioning he
helped design and roll-out. Whatever he does next, we will all be
watching and and cheering him on. Scot will stay in his role through the
end of this year to help us transition the marketing team to a new
integrated partnership model.
Going forward, Vicky Wilkens and Mark Fredo will report directly to Matt Eby,
who will take on a larger role overseeing audience development across
both TV and Digital. Matt will have a dual report to me and Cameron
Clayton. Michael Potts and the design team will move under Nora Zimmett
and report directly to her.
We are also significantly re-organizing our live team under Nora Zimmett.
Last week Nora announced her new management team. Today’s announcement
completes that restructuring by strengthening the assignment desk at the
core of the newsroom, ensuring that everyone not assigned to the desk
has a clear role on a specific show team, and eliminating special
projects teams. Nora and her team will be speaking with everyone today
to ensure that all roles and assignments are clearly understood.
I’m sure you have many questions. Additional details on how these changes
might affect you and your group will be shared in meetings over the next
few days.
Change like this is tough.The true measure of an organization is how it deals
with change and overcomes challenges.Together we will ensure The Weather
Channel continues as the most trusted brand on television for many
years to come.
Thank you.
David
Note: An earlier version of this story said the memo was David Kenny, not David Clark.