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Loznicka
WPMI abruptly fired Chief Meteorologist Jim Loznicka after Wednesday night’s 10 p.m. broadcast, ending an eight-year run by the Jacksonville, Fla. native at the NBC affiliate and leaving the station without a weather director just as Hurricane Season cranks up.
Station Vice President and General Manager Shea Grandquest refused to elaborate upon why Loznicka was fired, issuing only a terse statement thanking him for his years at the station.
“We appreciate Jim for his years of service at NBC15. We wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Grandquest in a written statement. “We are currently searching for a Chief Meteorologist.”
The Meteorologist known as “JLo” to his colleagues and viewers was one of few major players at the station to survive the bloody cut of three major anchors in one day a few years ago. Insiders say he was taken into see management after the 10 p.m. show Wednesday and told the station was “going to go in another direction.”
Not coincidentally Wednesday was also the last day of “sweeps,” which is the period during which stations establish ratings. WPMI has lagged in the latest ratings taken in March, falling in the ratings at the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. shows, to finish last among all of the local stations.
One WPMI insider told Lagniappe today that Loznicka is being blamed for the erosion of viewers at the 5 p.m. show.
Loznicka also reportedly has a six-month non-compete clause in his contract, which will prohibit him from working in the Mobile market for that length of time.
Loznicka began his career with WPMI working mornings at the station. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and has a Master of Geosciences Degree from Mississippi State University and is a member of the American Meteorological Society.
danielatflight says:
February 04, 2010
08:01 AM
I am glad Jim Loznicka got fired from Mobile, they have too many problems there ever since Raquel Eatmon quit I stopped watching and switched to drunken wear 3, I recently moved to Panama City and Jim got hired here its nice to see someone with personality here thank god for Jim otherwise ch 7 would blow.
billybob says:
June 22, 2009
02:07 PM
Collins murphy, blue zalea & willow . . all correct. And Jim thinks he' s the cooles guy in the place when I see him at the bar. I hate to say it,but the word is that hanky panky was goin on at pmi between him & a female correspondent.!!!
pussylvr says:
June 04, 2009
05:15 PM
Yo, Jim! I hear thunder....think it's going to rain? Hahahah - too easy, but you still would have said 'I give it a 50% chance'. Whatever... have a good life, bro.
atlantaboy says:
June 04, 2009
04:17 PM
There is just something basically wrong with a station that has this many news and weather anchors leaving with little or short notice. It indicates to me that one of three premises
are not being met:
1- Is the station manager clear in his mind what type of personality he wants to hire?
2- Can that many talents submit demos of their past work and turn out to be something different?
3- With so many satellite programs to choose from, how much increase in ratings for the local news is WPMI willing
to sacrafice their reputation for?
curiousgeorge says:
May 29, 2009
08:56 AM
Same guy. And they've put him in charge!
collins_murphy says:
May 28, 2009
04:41 PM
Shea Grandquest is the manager of the TV station?!?!? Good Lord........That boy was always trouble at Mc-T and at Springhill College....was quite the drinker too
collins_murphy says:
May 28, 2009
04:41 PM
Shea Grandquest is the manager of the TV station?!?!? Good Lord........That boy was always trouble at Mc-T and at Sprnghill College....was quite the drinker too
lavenderazalea says:
May 28, 2009
10:46 AM
If John Edd does what tvinsider4mobile is claiming to do than I feel as though NBC 15's ratings would further go down the toilet.Because that would make him look like a complete dirtbag considering what has been occurred to celebrate his retirement. Personally I think Kym "Ice Cold" Thurman should share in the blame for the ratings plument as well. My reasoning is because her persona on air is always very condescending and she is always quick to stop the on-air chit-chat, as well in public she is not very friendly to viewers who want to speak to her. and your public is the one who determines the ratings. Again we all have to wait and see what happens.
P.S. It seems that people who win Lagniappe sexiest on-air personality awards somehow ends up off the air in the Mobile-P'Cola market.
ryann says:
May 27, 2009
08:46 AM
All I can say is thank God he is gone! He made me sick everytime I looked at him on the TV. I've seen him out at several local clubs and bars and he's always hitting on "girls" half his age. I wouldn't doubt it if he got caught trying to hook up with an under age girl.
blueazaela says:
May 27, 2009
12:08 AM
I'll just say he had some strange behavior towards women and leave it at that. Is that why he got fired? I couldn't say. Would I be surprised? No.
willow says:
May 26, 2009
10:35 PM
Personally I am glad I don't have to look at that creep again on tv. After he hit on my friend and neglected to tell her about his family (and how he dumped them to hook up with all the interns b/c he was the chief meterologist) maybe the station learned of his doings and let him go because of that. I would not want my kids watching him on tv, looking up to him as a role model when really he is not. and someone needs to tell him he's not the hotest guy at the bar.
mobileguy says:
May 26, 2009
10:05 PM
WPMI management is clueless. Greg Peterson is the real reason their evening ratings have tanked. Did they think KMTV made a mistake when they fired him for low ratings, and that things would somehow be different here?
I would suggest moving their morning team to evenings, but it would be too little, too late. The damage has already been done. They sealed their fate when they fired two popular local anchors and brought in talent unfamiliar with the area. Those lost viewers will never return.
And since you can't swing around a dead cat without hitting a WPMI staffer who is more than happy to talk about Peterson being a prima donna, and about things such as the manufactured memorial for the bridge kids, it's easy to understand why viewers simply don't like the man.
But, it's not all Greg's fault. The news director and reporters must also shoulder some of the blame for their eventual fade to black.
I actually watched tonight at 6, and once again a reporter resorted to using props during a live shot. It's not uncommon for them to use props to sensationalize a story, but this time they went way too far.
The reporter (whose work I used to respect, and whose name I won't use here) stood in the front yard of a home where a man was murdered and buried, and held up a shovel as he detailed how the suspect allegedly hired someone to dig the hole for her. The kicker is they claimed it was a story you "would only see on NBC15," which of course wasn't the case.
Why did they fire Jim Loznicka? Probably because he didn't kiss Peterson's pompous behind.
skoot1200 says:
May 26, 2009
02:32 PM
WPMI's non-compete states (unless it's changed since my days) it is null and void if the employee
is terminated. Jim was fired? He can work where he wants. Problem is, who will hire hime if the taint
of low ratings stick to him? Personally, the low ratings are rarely attributible to the weather and more
to the news desk "talent."
tvinsider4mobile says:
May 24, 2009
03:24 PM
I have inside information on what Channel 15 is doing. They've already made plans to hire John Edd Thompson. Thompson had a non compete at Channel 10, but by "retiring" as he did his contract is null and void. Channel 15 is hiring John Edd who will miraculously decide he wants to come out of retirement. Channel 15 has done numerous market research studies over the years and the gold for TV ratings in Mobile is John Edd. They are paying him triple his salary from what he made at Channel 10, which is way more than any other Channel 15 on air personality. Wait and see... in the next few weeks John Edd makes his WPMI TV debut.
brianwgroom says:
May 22, 2009
11:44 PM
I'm not tuning in to NBC15 news no mo. Boycott them
lifes2short says:
May 22, 2009
04:07 PM
Media is a stressful way to make a living. I worked in media for years and have friends who have or currently work at all the local stations. I can tell you that WPMI is by far the worst work environment. The Mgt team is young and inexperienced and hasn't yet learned that your employees are what make you successful. That station has run off and ended careers of the best employees. The ones who are still there have already quit... the mgt is just too clueless to know it. They break the spirits instead of build the careers of the people who put them where they are. I don't know one person who would honestly say they wouldn't leave WPMI if they weren't afraid too (other than Grandquest... at least until the ratings come out!) If I ran a station I would want people loyal to me not people I afraid to go without an income for 6 months because I am vendictive! So, like the name says... "life's too short" to work most of your waking hours in a bad environment!
bocfiend says:
May 22, 2009
10:39 AM
This is exactly why I do not watch the local news. They all suck. Mel acts like he's got a corn cob up his ass, Bob Drip looks like his face has been pulled so tight it's going to split and the idiots at WPMI just scream. Like all the news sources in Mobile, unlike the Lagniappe, they are clueless as to anything that is going on.
House cleaning of this type is just a measure by the management to keep their jobs at someone's expense.
richard_tysons_schlong says:
May 21, 2009
06:10 PM
MNT – Haha. Peterson certain does yell the news. Sometimes it's so loud I shrivel up and retract to where its safe. On the inside.
–RTS
mnt says:
May 21, 2009
06:03 PM
For years I've been trying to figure out what PMI was going for with the shakeups in on-air talent. "Gross mismanagement" is all I can come up. I'll miss having Jim on our local air, but to be honest I haven't watched PMI much since Greg Peterson started yelling the news.
mnt says:
May 21, 2009
06:02 PM
For years I've been trying to figure out what PMI was going for with the shakeups in on-air talent. "Gross mismanagement" is all I can come up. I'll miss having Jim on our local air, but to be honest I haven't watched PMI much since Greg Peterson started yelling the news.
altairisfar says:
May 21, 2009
04:59 PM
WPMI was a favorite of mine until the big shakeup a few years ago. And Loznicka was just about the only one there now that I could stand to watch for more than 5 minutes. Guess I'll keep watching WKRG...
mescal says:
May 21, 2009
01:48 PM
I'm thinking they're going to replace him with a hot chick for ratings.
downtowner310 says:
May 21, 2009
01:30 PM
I agree with the fact that management at WPMI is clueless. The current anchors are a complete downgrade. I hope they have something good in mind because JLo had a pretty good following. Hopefully he will end up somewhere much better than WMPI and they will realize how stupid they were to let him go.
jlove05 says:
May 21, 2009
12:36 PM
Grandquest SUCKS!!!!!! Bring back Jim!!!!!!! I hope thir ratings CRASH!!!!!!
curiousgeorge says:
May 21, 2009
12:27 PM
Do you think maybe the current GM is looking for ways to point the finger and save his own job? The station has seen consistent ratings and revenue declines since he took the driver's seat. If you can't raise revenue, you must cut expenses. Desperate times call for desperate measures...
billybob says:
May 21, 2009
11:38 AM
I know 15's G M & he seems to be on top of things. J Lo must have done something real bad in order to et canned. Funny how they waited for John Edd to get replaced. Maybe Jim had a long shot @ that. Bring David Glenn back.
mobilerealtor says:
May 21, 2009
10:38 AM
The management at WPMI is clueless. The current anchors are serious downgrades from Peter and Drexel. I am sure the same will be said for Jim's replacement.
harrakis says:
May 21, 2009
10:37 AM
Non-competes are great, but they almost never hold up in court. The idea was to keep someone from giving out secrets about how your company works... but it is illegal to keep someone from working. I wish Jim good luck, maybe the Weather Channel will pick him up. :)