Former WBBH Anchor: ‘Television News is Dying a Desperate and Ugly Death’

Jim Walker, a veteran local television anchor with more than 25 years of experience on air, was cut loose at the beginning of August after just a year at WBBH, the NBC affiliate for Fort Myers. And just like his former colleague Craig Wolf, who was fired from the station in March, Walker is not going quietly.

Walker took to his Facebook page to express his distaste with the station’s decision, noting that he would not disclose the details of his confidential separation agreement. According to The Fort Myers News-Press, Walker wrote that the broadcasts he helms — 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. — have all gained year-over-year viewership. Walker also shared his gloomy view on the “brutal business” of local television:

I’m not angry or depressed, but more disappointed. I expected I would retire here. I expected to have years for viewers to get to know me, and me them. Television news is a brutal business and as the pie gets smaller and smaller, stations are going to get more desperate with salaries getting smaller and people working harder and harder. [Anchor and reporter] talent is getting younger and younger because older, experienced people aren’t willing to work for $25k per year. Television news is dying a desperate and ugly death.

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