Word broke yesterday that longtime Channel 9 weatherman Nick Carter is the station's latest cost-cutting casualty. The final broadcast by the veteran air personality (to the left of the affixed image, with his soon-to-be-former 9News colleagues) is scheduled for Friday.
Unlike anchor Bob Kendrick, whose hefty contract was likely a major factor in his 9News departure, Carter, who won Best of Denver awards as the city's preeminent forecaster in 1988 and 1995, probably wasn't among the top salaried staffers at the station. After all, he generally attempted to foretell the weather future during comparatively low-profile broadcasts when not filling in for vacationing stars like Kathy Sabine. Rather, he was simply unlucky that his agreement expired during a revenue downturn so horrific that even the highest-rated news station in the market is feeling the pinch. Channel 31's Steve Kelley, who talks about his recent ouster from the Fox affiliate in this December More Messages blog, is another example of the phenomenon.
Expect more such victims to surface in the coming months, as Denver TV outlets cut back to the bare essentials, and turn what were once contract negotiations into abrupt farewells.
