Tense eMails Preceeded Al Roker's Cancellation

Al Roker

Weatherman Al Roker's "Wake Up With Al" show on the Weather Channel is being canceled. According to The Root blog, the cancellation followed a dispute between Roker and David Clark, president of The Weather Company's TV division, over a decision to downplay the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall.

TWC decided to focus, instead, on the pending arrival of Tropical Storm Erika, according to a report Wednesday in the subscription-only television news site NewsBlues. The report was based on an email exchange made publicly internally.

Nevertheless, "In an email exchange last Thursday, Roker wrote: 'I don't understand why Steph [Abrams] and I aren't together on the actual anniversary day of Katrina's landfall [in New Orleans]. There is nothing happening Saturday in Florida,' " NewsBlues reported.

" 'I could not disagree more with this decision,' wrote Roker. 'We will have a phalanx of people talking about a storm Saturday that our graphic will show is not possibly making landfall till Monday...if then. Viewers aren't stupid. They can see when potential landfall is, assuming it holds together.'

Roker then threw a sharp elbow at Weather Channel management. "The reason we are in the trouble we're in is an intransigence of management when it comes to a decision and an unwillingness to pivot."

"Roker's jab hit a nerve and his email quickly ricocheted up the management tree. 'We are juggling a lot right now,' David Clark . . . replied. 'If you disagree with a decision you are welcome to speak up, you have more than earned the right to do so, but this is out of line and not how we do things here.'

"Roker responded, 'Really David. You want to try and spank me in front of people. You want to do this?' Unfortunately, Roker hit the 'Reply to All' button and his snippy response was widely shared within The Weather Channel family.

"He then apologized. 'Folks, I want to apologize if I embarrassed anyone. I didn't mean for this to be a public argument. I replied on an cc: that I didn't mean to. We all want the same thing, best possible product, and a real outcome for our viewers. Hey, the good news is, you all read your emails."

A few days later, The Weather Channel canceled 'Wake Up With Al.