I think many of us on TV forget about how much we become part of your family at home, so it's been touching to see the outpouring of support for Paul Douglas. As you probably know, Paul lost his job here at WCCO last week. Many of the people commenting on my April 3rd blog entry on layoffs have lamented the fact that Paul didn't get a chance to say goodbye.
It's interesting. I assume if I ever lose my job, I'm not going to get to go on TV and say something to the viewers. But, with the internet, I'd certainly share thoughts somewhere else. And that's exactly what Paul's been doing. I want to direct you to some of that here.
In his Star Tribune weather column Sunday, Paul wrote: "The last 24-36 hours have been surreal - and wonderful. All I can say is getting fired in a place where you are blessed with great friends, readers, viewers and listeners is a little like attending your own funeral. My heart goes out to Minnesotans who left messages and e-mails expressing concern. Yes, stuff happens. The truth? I was making too much money at a time when local TV news isn’t nearly as profitable as it was even 5 years ago. I wouldn’t want to be a manager at a local TV station right now: in short, money coming in from their web site advertising doesn’t make up for advertising money lost from the TV newscasts, as consumers flock to the web for information."
The Minnesota Monitor also shared an e-mail that Paul sent to close friends and business associates, you can read that here.
I know some of you have written that you're never going to watch WCCO again. I hope you'll reconsider. There's a lot of people in this building and this newsroom who care about good journalism and this community. Speaking for myself, the business may change, but our commitment to quality will not.
UPDATE 4/7, Paul Douglas was quoted in C.J.'s column, "Both KARE11 and KSTP-TV "graciously allowed me to say goodbye on their air, but I didn't think that was appropriate (although I appreciate the gesture very much).... No, I don't think I'll be saying goodbye on WCCO's airwaves (as much as I'd love to see my friends in the newsroom and get some closure on this thing). My hope is that we'll be able to work things out professionally and quickly, in light of what has happened."
