WFOR chief meteorologist David Bernard is said to be on his way out. According to GossipExtra, Bernard was offered a contract by the station for less than what he makes now so he decided to walk. He is the third high-profile personality to leave WFOR in less than a year, after main anchors Shannon Hori and Antonio Mora left just recently.
There is some disagreement about what’s actually prompting these changes. To some, WFOR management is freshening things up with new blood, to others it is management not wanting to spend big bucks on talent anymore, so those that don’t want to play along can leave and be replaced by less demanding talent. Or both. Though it does kind of make you wonder how big or small a check WFOR and CBS had to cut for Rick Folbaum to bring him from the network level down to a TV station in the 16th largest market? One whose newscasts local viewers are not exactly rushing to watch.
David Bernard joined WFOR in 2005 from WWL in New Orléans, selected personally by Bryan Norcross, he would eventually take over for him as chief meteorologist in 2008 when Norcross left the station to form his own company.
Want an interesting factoid? WSVN, once the perennial revolving door for talent, now has the longest-serving anchor team on Miami TV, at least among English stations. Belkys Nerey and Craig Stevens have been together since August 2003. Also, three of the station’s four main news anchors have been there for 20+ years each. And Phil Ferro, the longest-serving chief meteorologist since 2004, if you don’t count John Morales’ time at WLTV and WSCV. And of course Christine Cruz and Diana Diaz on ‘Today in Florida’ both of whom have been with WSVN since 1996 and 1998 respectively.
David Bernard will officially leave WFOR sometime in November.
Very sad to heard this news.
Too bad Scott Padgett is leaving South Florida for Dallas. He could have joined WFOR as their chief meteorologist. Oh well, maybe Trent Aric can jump ship from WPLG and join WFOR. I liked David Bernard, but it would be great to see some local talent take over his role at WFOR. Good luck to David.
Trent to WFOR I hope!! He is the best in SFLA!!!
He is worth more than the two anchors they dismissed put together. Was their “go to” guy for CBS in
New York so you know he is good. The way channel 10 dumped, demoted and humiliated all their weathermen it would not surprise anyone if Trent made himself available. 10 won’t miss him because
so many viewers stopped watching them. Ha!
Salary mitigation…..
David aint the first and wont be the last.
They must have dropped his dollars significantly in order for him to walk.
Then again……maybe WFOR is crappy station (internally speaking) and even the slightest mention of a pay cut was enough to walk.
When you are tired, frustrated, pushed up against the wall……the slightest annoyance can be a motivating factor to move on.
Part of the business!
Wish you well D.
Just read on TVSpy.com that Jeff Berardelli is leaving WFOR for WPEC in Palm Beach. Looks like the CBS weather team is going be hiring real soon as they will only be left with Lissette and Craig by the Fall.
WFOR sounds like they are in trouble. Main anchors being let go, Chief Meteorologist and weekend Meterologist leaving the station…and who knows who else will be out the door because they make too much money (which is the rumor on the reason for some of the departures).
Scott Padgett & Trent Aric…move over to WFOR an help them rebuild their weather team.
I wonder if Roland Stedham is regretting signing a contract with WPLG for the weekend AM meteorologist position, when he could possibly have a better position with WFOR?
well..
Where there is smoke, there is fire……and opportunity; opportunity for someone….but treading lightly/cautiously would be recommended if pursuing opps at WFOR. No one wants to walk into a sh*t storm if the place is not being managed right.
**Pure speculation on my part about WFOR
Looks like i need to whip out my dental veneers and brush off the resume.
Prime time is calling….
You think S FL is ready for a male Filipino??????
I wish David, Scott and Jeff well. I’ve enjoyed watching them all as a viewer. I guess that Trent is not far behind them. I figure that WPLG hired Roland as an insurance policy and I doubt he’ll be doing the weekend AM slot for very long.
Interesting that the only locally, privately, owned and managed station is the most stable.
I bet Scott is wishing he hadn’t jumped on the morning gig in Dallas with the openings at WFOR.
Maybe. Both WFOR and KTVT are CBS O&O’s, so maybe they can work out a deal. If WFOR is being tight with money, he may not have been interested anyway. Besides, Scott’s moving up from the #16 market to the #5 market in DFW. Not too shabby.
Belkys Nerey, Craig Stevens, Steve Shapiro and Phil Ferro have been together since 2005. Longest on-air team in South Florida.
WFOR is already in trouble:
1 – their news ratings suck.
2 – replacing a well-known South Floridan with an network reporter.
3 – 2 great meteorologists leaving.
4 – they should have paid him (David) the same amount for a new contract.
5 – WFOR just sucks.
That’s why I watch 7, not 4.
If they start slashing Jim or Kim in the sports department it will show they are in big financial trouble.
Letting your best weather person walk to save a couple bucks makes no sense. If they hire another
air head with big boobs as a replacement everyone will be livid.
How does Eliot manages to stay?
YES love WSVN ch 7 the news station and the ENTIRE team !!!!
Any word yet on who will be taking the place as the main weather person or weekend man ???
WFOR has been slicing and dicing to max out their profit even though CBS is rolling in cash.
Make more bucks for the suits in New York. The station has always been the unwanted stepchild of the network and it continues to this day. The managers in charge, top to bottom, were not hired for their stellar news judgement by any means.
It’s no surprise so many are bailing out of that clown-car of a newsroom.
WFOR would be STUPID if they didn’t go get Trent Aric now! He has been here what, roughly 10 years in the market, worked with Max Mayfield and Don Noe all those years. Where would they find a better fit? Plus he already has name recognition and credibility in the area. Even if he has a non-compete it doesn’t matter wait for it to expire. He would be ready for next hurricane season they have David until the end of this years season. Scott Padgett is going to a CBS O&O in Dallas maybe they should think about keeping him and Trent together and handing it to WPLG. Think about it, Betty Davis has never covered a hurricane in south Florida and Julie Durda was pulled off the air during storms. WPLG has lost all credibility they had, expect for Max who looks highly annoyed on the air these days. Great opportunity for WFOR. Let’s see how smart they are.
Max being annoyed is probably related to something else, of which you know nothing about.