WTNH Rolls Out Geoff Fox's Replacement

The pin headed Marty McGillicuddies who are running these stations have no concept of creativity and the idea that personalities ultimately attract ratings. You cant make a commodity out of the news…but these parochial morons seem to want to put their own stamp on things.

So then who gets fired/not-renewed at that other station to pick up Fox?

I doubt any of the other stations in CT would make room for Fox – including the weekends. There is some real talent out there.

I’m sure Steve’s a nice fellow and a credentialed meteorologist. But it will take him years…YEARS..to build anything *close* to the following Geoff had. He’s been hired at, no doubt, a fraction of Geoff’s cost…but station management should know it’ll get what it pays for.
Look for Ch. 8 news to literally bleed viewes.

The only persons I watch at WTNH are Dr. Mel and Geoff Fox. The news leaders are horrible—can’t stand them. I’m all done with WTNH. News dept. is awful. I’m off to NBC.

NBC Connecticut is far underrated – everything from Anchors to Reporters are top notch. Certainly worth a watch if looking for a new home to get your news and weather.

I would just like a deeper description of what makes an “awful” newscast/news team.

Jeff I was let go in July of last year because I was told they had to cut back. 3 months later I find out they hired another girl to do what I was doing. Yes this made me mad and hurt I feel your pain and it is not nice.. I was there for 3 years and did my job well and to find out after 3 months I was replaced stinks.

I don’t know why anyone would watch WTNH for their news. All their promotion seems to be centered around how hot they think Teresa & Sonia Baghdady are.

If you have the time, check out Sonia’s Facebook page. It’s just her modeling and show off the two new body parts she bought.

At least at WFSB & WVIT, they at least pay lip service to being journalists. WTNH is a joke.

And the WTNH’s “We Got Your Back” commercials are obnoxious, biased and stupid. How can I trust a news organization that says they’re on a side. Shouldn’t they be neutral?

Channel 8 lost alot of viewers getting rid of Matt and Geoff. I hope the impact is really felt in a big way. I now watch ch 30 and ch 3.

I gotta say today is the most demoralizing day at News 8 in a long time. We worked so hard and weve made talent changes and spent money and we got our asses freakin kicked on a big storm day when our coverage was the best. S.K. is spot on we need changes. Letter to Higgins: Please please wake up and fix this place. Our new news director should be WFSB’s assistant news director. We do want to beat them, right? Our new weather guy should have come from 3 not NY. Mark Dixon would have brought viewers. Why not have put Geoff in the mornings and Gil at night? Speaking of our 10 and 11. We have three anchors, WFSB has one and wins. Sorry Sonia, but Darren could get the same numbers solo and save us a salary or put Ann back on.. Now that Kirk is gone let’s use Ted and get him off the weekends. Most of our viewers are women so why not give us something to look at rather than the hot mess in the mornings.

Wtnh has lost me as a viewer. If Geoff Fox returns, so will I.

Saw the new guy yesterday. Can’t someone at least teach him the vernacular? It’d “SHORELINE,” not “COAST!” What an embarassment that 8 has a new commercial with Dr. Mel endorsing him.

Pinstripe suits don’t belong in CT….. go back to NYC with that.

I have yet to watch NEWS8 at night since the day that Geoff Fox was on last and won’t.

Higgins should be fired on the spot and sent packing. He’s screwed up the entire station with his moves. Keith and Ann should be the news team at night, but he’s just putting the T&A team on in Sonia and Teresa in prime spots.

The only reason I watch their news at noon is that I like Keith and Dr. Mel as they know the area and know what they are talking about.

They should give Geoff his job back. He had a loyal following and people trusted him.

As far as I am concerned, it won’t be long before Snooze 8 is in the basement for ratings in the state. Even FOX61 is better lately and they were the bottom-ranked station in the state. Give them credit for combining sources with the Hartford Courant. It makes them more credible and timely. And I love the 4 p.m. weekday newscast when I am home to see it.

All I can say is………….dumb move Higgins! You won’t be able to GIVE AWAY your ad time on the evening news broadcasts!

Keep me informed.

Cannot seem to watch Channel 8 anymore without Jeff Fox. I watched Fox News these past few storms since Jeff has been let go and have to admit it was better than what 8 has now. No station can replace Jeff Fox but I refuse to watch Channel 8 after what they did. Shame on them. I hope the ratings prove it to them.

To “TheGreat8@gmail.com” above:

Mark Dixon???? Replace Geoff?? You’re joking, right? Nice guy, but watching him mumble through his weather reports is like watching paint dry…dullsville!! He would draw viewers??? Wha??

They have this “weatherguy” Syd Stark on the weekends who is just the worst…and he’s a financial adviser, not even a meteorologist! Would you call Charles Schwab for your weather forecast?

Channel 8 weather is in the dumps. Back to News 12 and WFSB.

while flipping around I caught Mel’s commercial with the newbie – swooning? Traitor!

If I were Steve McLaughlin, I would be totally embarrased that WTNH had to put ads on, showing
Dr. Mels support for him. I can imagine how sad it must have been for poor Dr.Mel to be made to stab his friend ( Geoff Fox ) in the back with these trite promos. If he didn’t know it before, I bet he knows it now, don’t screw with loyal Connecticut viewers.

If this is how they treat the people who work for them, I can only imagine how they treat members of their own family–because that is what News 8 represented–a family… until now, that is! What goes around, comes around!

I am also jumping to NBC in the PM. I may still catch the Noon segment when I can b/c of K Kountz and Dr. Mel.
Speaking of Mel, how humiliating for Dr Mel to have to be in a commercial promoting Steve McLaughlin given the fan base and push back hoo ha for Geoff Fox,
AND how unfair to Steve McLaughlin, to dump him into this mess. Talk about a set up for failure! Hope the poor guy didn’t relocate his family for this. Folks, he’s not the bad guy here.
I am especially peeved with the station’s ” brain trust” that pulled Mr Fox before the publicly announced last date. Do they not have a clue or even care about the attachments of loyal viewers? Loyal, being the key word…….. I realize I have no personal relationship with Geoff , but on a level I many others do, when he becomes a part of daily routine, one who I count on for important information that I need to make decisions every day. News stories flow like water,and individual interests have untold variables. Few news stories effect us directly. But WEATHER effects me and us all, 24/7. Every person has a personal stake in knowing what’s coming and has on some level a relationship with the person who brings us the only information that effects every one of lives daily. And some more than others. When I patronize a retailer because I purchase & consume a reliable and durable product and that retailer then changes suppliers and brands to improve his profit, and that retailer tells his customers (me) my preferred product will be available up to a certain date, then reneges on that promise…… I look for a new place to shop, where I can get the same product or one of like proven value. I watch all 4 area news and weather casts. I have a preference for certain news/ weather & sports personalities and will switch channels to see them. I preferred Geoff in the evening. Now I guess it’s Brad 1st and then Bruce.

They are hard up to get the thousands and thousands of people who have left because of what they did to Geoff Fox, so they are using another popular figure in Dr. Mel.

Shame on you, Snooze 8.

Bring Geoff Fox back.to wtnh he is the only one who can tell the weather point on. Sorry Mel but you have a totally different. Way and you can’t get everything in that we need to know. Gil great job. The new guys need to go!!!!!!!!

I find it hard to believe that the “Brain Trust” at WTNH and LIn Media don’t understand the basic concept of Viewer trust. People trusted Winchell back in the 1940’s, Cronkite in the 1950’s, Huntly and Brinkley, in the 1960’s Geoff Fox was trusted for 26 years by the people of Connecticut for his passion about the weather and his concern for his viewers.
Channel 8’s decision makers stepped on their #$%*, sorry, “tail” big-time on this on. Bring back Geoff Fox and Matt Scott……..oh yeah , and before you lose too much revenue give them a raise and apologize on air!

They say no one is reading newspapers anymore. I for one almost exclusively get my news from the paper now. It’s just like watching the news on TV minus the obnoxious personalities. It’s actually more informative to read the paper in print or online. You should all try it sometime. Geoff Fox was one of the only reasons I watched WTNH. He made you laugh at the right time, during the weather. I lost respect for the station when they changed their news anchors. I’m sorry but I cring when I hear some of the unintelligent things come out of Sonia’s mouth. Then there’s Darren. I’m sure they’re all fine, nice people, but they just don’t carry that journalistic authority. Keith and Ann could easily interview the Governor or a Senator. Could you see Sonia or Darren doing that? It would be a comedy hour a la Scott Haney. Then there are the constant technical glitches and snafus on their every broadcast. How could a station – the first in Connecticut, right? – not have their “stuff” together by now? Out of respect for one of my favorite weathercasters in Connecticut, I stopped watching Channel 8 altogether. It’s hard, and I miss watching Keith, Ann, Mark Davis, and Dr. Mel, but I’m an ethical person and I’m choosing to no longer ‘do business’ with a corporation like LIN/WTNH. It’s been a breath of fresh air to now watch NBC-CT, FOX61, and Channel 3. I find them all to be professional when it’s appropriate and light-hearted when necessary. Something a lot of the on-air talent at Channel 8 haven’t quite mastered yet. And the low-class, back-room bar talk “We’ve Got Your Back” commercials… don’t miss them for anything!

I too am dismayed at the fact that the best meteoroloist in the state , by far, has been pushed aside by the morons that be at WTNH. Since the announcement, I have been watching channel 4. CT News Channel 8 actually had the nerve to post something on their facebook page the other day thanking CT for the fact that their FB page had the most visits ever during the month of January. The fact that they can’t recognize that folks visited and “friended” CT News Channel 8 FB page only to express their outrage and disappointment over Fox’s firing shows just how out of touch they are. Perhaps their drop in ratings will be what they need to realize what a colossal mistake they made. One can only hope another local station picks Mr. Fox up. If they do I’ll be a viewer forever

Geoff Fox made WTNH worth watching. I wrote to LIN and got no response. I wrote directly to WTNH and got no response. I am done with WTNH. I will delete its bookmark on my MAC and remove the APP from my iPhone. I’ll be looking out for Geoff Fox at some other station. Hope he stays in CT. CH3 Eyewitness news could use his him and they will gain a great following.

LIN Media will not be the first company to discover that they cannot betray consumer trust. I have watched WTNH for more than 20 years, but am through now. Geoff Fox should not have been let go. That Teresa girl should not have been hired, Sid Starks is a waste of air time, and Ann Nyburg has more wigs than any woman needs. I hope WTNH sees immediate and profound changes in viewer ratings that demonstrate how people value loyalty to faithful and effective workers. Higgins should be made to pay the costs of promoting the re-hire of Geoff Fox out of his own bonus!!

Did I say it once already? Then it bears repeating… WTNH has lost a viewing family of 25 years. My kids have been forbidden from tuning to WTNH. Smoke that Mr. Higgins!

Here’s another Geoff fan just waiting for him to announce where he went to, to follow his broadcasts. Hopefully, if he stays in Connecticut

hey…i want geoff fox im 12 years old and no1 can replace him common bring him back.

🙁

bring geoff fox back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:@ :@ :@ :@

I WILL NEVER WATCH NEWS 8 EVER AGAIN AND WILL NEVER GO TO WTNH.COM EVER FROM NOW ON. THIS IS A GIANT STUPID MOVE YOU DID GIANT.

The real problem here is LIN TV. The management has no respect for their employees or the intelligence of their viewers. You really think a couple sets of big boobs will lure viewers? Old people and women over 40 watch local news.
And forget WTNh promo dept – we got your back? if i see one more shot of Jaime Muro shoveling some handicapped guy out, I’ll bust. Is that news? Are we that dumb?
And the slick ads of Theresa on the Q Bridge looking like a winter pin-up girl. Just stupid. I occasionally flick to 8 for fairfield county traffic in the AM and she has made soooo many mistakes it’s just stupid. I’d rather watch dumpy News 12.

i can’t believe how stubborn people are & how they cannot accept change ! it’s time for these ol timers to retire go to boca and enjoy the early bird special’s . let the new blood try to make a living in this tough economy . hey they offered geoff a contract he got greedy & turned it down. and they got a guy who is more professional and is willing to do a better job and at a smaller salary. thats a win win if you ask me i will continue to watch ch 8 because i live in bpt and that’s all i have for local news i do not get ch 12 anymore because i do not have cable .so that being said i like change and change is good . wplr changed over & went with chaz & aj & rating’s went thru the roof dont be surprised if the same thing happens to channel 8 !

Bandit:

If you look, your views are outnumbered by a 15-1 margin. No one wanted this change and believe me, the only place WTNH’s ratings are headed is the nearby toilet.

Bandit:

Your age discrimination comment really has no bearing relative to the views being expressed by people of all ages. I have no first hand knowledge of Geoff Fox’s contractural position as you seem to have, but I do know that he has always demonstrated the opidomy of professionalism and a knowledge of meteorology second only to Dr. Mell. You sound like your having a struggle in your life financially and bassed on that, making comments based on anger not knowledge.

New dude predicted 6″-12″ of snow during the 10PM broadcast the night before the Tuesday storm (2/1/11). I looked at that tv and said to myself ‘Dude, you’re going out on a limb. No one else is predicting those numbers’. Sure enough, all I got was a sloshy inch. If that’s News 8’s idea of improvement…good luck to them. The only reason I was any New8 is because it’s on at 10pm. I can’t watch Erica I-trip-over-my-tongue- Arias on 61. My dislike goes back to her brief stint as weekend chick on WFSB. My mainstay is WVIT. I agree with whoever said underrated. They scooped a couple of stories when I was a WFSB regular. I left WFSB after those scoops & a couple of personnel changes I disagreed with (though not Arias). My husband and I appreciate the low key approach of NBC CT and the commraderie. Watch Twitter and you’ll understand what I mean. These people genuinely like each other. It’s refreshing.

I too, am completely shocked at Geoff’s departure from WTNH I have been watching him for over 20 yrs. Dr. Mel was great when he had the job and Geoff filled in wonderfully from him. I had no idea he was fired until this a.m. when I googled him.Shock is all I can say. The young man who took his place looks almost exactly like Geoff when he started 26 yr. ago. I will not be watching him however, and am very disappointed in Mel. & the station. Geoff should have been allowed to say “goodbye to his viewers.

Perhaps letters to editors of Connecticut Post , New Haven Register and Hartford Courant and oh yes, Stamford Advocate might get the word out. A call to boycott WTNH for their total disregard of their viewers. United we hold the power of the purse.

i realize iam being out numbered on my support of the new weatherman but lets face it if you live on the shoreline of connecticut chanel 8 newes is the best & only option. I wouldnt be surprised if the majority of people get over this Geoff fox mania ( what the heck did he ever do for you ? ) and come back to channel 8 news because you are only inconviencing yourselves and for what ? that being said i can care less who delivers the news im not looking to be friends with these people im only looking to get information i wish Geof fox well in the future

I too have been livid about the dumping of Geoff Fox.
I’ve also posted that sentiment everywhere I can. I watched Steve M. last night – I have to say, I thought he did a decent job…….he’s up against so much right now. If he’s a Pro, and a TV person , he probably expected this backlash anyway. But, I will no longer watch WTNH news . What a horrible decision this was; and more than unfair on several levels. There are a few people who should have been shown the door before Geoff – some who I find it actually painful to watch……so it’s on to NBC for me.

Bandit-
The new guy is not the issue here. I don’t know him nor hold anything against him. The issue for many here, and others can speak up as they like, is that Geoff not that he only gave us accurate weather which others can do as well he gave us a consistent upbeat and delightful presentation. And he did that for 26 years. So the viewers came to see him as a source of optimism and stability akin to Dunkin Donuts 🙂 even though I don’t eat them.
It is insulting to accuse people you don’t know of simply be unwilling to change because they care about something you don’t. I went to 14 different schools in my youth, lived in a dozen different places and alternated coasts from East to West and back again twice. I have had multiple jobs and excelled is all. I gave up a life, a house, a car and twenty years of established friends and institutions to return to a new area for me in CT to care for a ill family member. I KNOW CHANGE. When I came back two years ago I was delighted to find Geoff Fox still on WTNH. I had made a return move to CT in 1984 the same year and month Geoff started. We spoke on the phone a couple of times. He is a joy!
If you think WTNH is your only source for SNE news and weather…well think again. There are many venues for news and weather. But a minor inconvenience is worth the stand on principle. LIN and WTNH need me as a viewer more than I need them. I will continue to support Geoff Fox and boycott those who treat people like commodities.

Bandit, I have found NBC Connecticut to be at least as good as News 8 and shoreline reporting…and in some cases, better. It’s worth a look.

I think WTNH is trying to build their ratings by bringing in these younger and good looking air heads over the older professionals that know what they are doing. After 26 yrs for them to treat Geoff like this is totally unacceptable . This truly shows the lack of class and concern WTNH and Mr Higgins have for their loyal viewers and staff. I wonder who will be next Ann, Keith or Dr Mel who knows. We can only hope that WTNH sees how many viewers that will be lost and also the ad revenue before it is to late and it is Mr Higgins that is next to go. Time to change to channel 30 I think .

I can only hope they don’t offer ann & keith & dr mel a new contract dr mel is so out of it he is barely tolerable! ann doesnt inteact with her co workers well & is a snob. and keith stumbles over his words! but of course you cant get rid of keith because he is black and al sharpton & the NAACP will be all up in WTNH face. all the new people they have brought in has been an improvement !

wow, Ive been watching channel 8- 4-ever!
what the heck happen to them, each move is disaster! I cant stand the boreeeeeeeeedom anymore- I am outta here, wheres my remote!
bring back Geoff!

i will say it agian poor jeff fox got dumped because of a thing called father time?you do the math 27yrs is a long time to be with an employer vacation time 27yrs of sick time bult up it all adds up to whos younger and cheeper too employ?poor jeff fox gotton tyed up with father time good luck jeff

i stop wach ch 8 just becauce Jeff Fox is not there i will wach any ather channel . sorry Jeff i miss you.