The phrase, “All good things must come to an end,” is a familiar one, meant to comfort us when something in our lives changes that we wished would just stay the same.
This may now apply to Ben Hoover, the news anchor that WIS recently let go due to a “private personnel reason.” Hoover wrote on Facebook on July 3 that he was told by station managers that his contract would not be renewed.
Hoover admitted he “didn’t see this one coming”.
It also seemed rather abrupt to viewers, who, judging from their posts on social media, are confused and upset by Hoover’s departure.
There’s a poll on a Twitter accounted called PoliSite about whether or not his contract should be renewed, and the social media site blew up with fans’ reactions to the news — some of which ranged from apathy, with one man stating he didn’t get the “freakout,” to people claiming they would no longer watch WIS because Hoover is gone.
A Change.org petition was posted to bring him back, and 30 protesters gathered outside of WIS’ studios to protest.
Following the news last month that Jody Barr, the station’s lead investigative reporter, was also leaving, the decision not to renew Hoover’s contract is especially puzzling.
Although Barr left to pursue new opportunities in Cincinnati with a FOX affiliate, the fact that the station has now lost two prominent staff members in the same year leaves viewers wondering about the station.
In a statement released on July 6, WIS promised the same “excellence you have come to expect from this television station over the last 60 years.”
Still, with this surprising decision that has largely been met with a negative backlash, it’s possible that people won’t be watching WIS, whether it continues to provide the aforementioned excellence or not.
People don’t enjoy having the rug pulled out from under their feet, especially not when it concerns something that they consider a mainstay.
Hoover was a continual presence in his viewers’ lives, appearing on their televisions to deliver the news at 6, 7 and 11 p.m. WIS’ audience became accustomed to seeing him, to his banter with Judi Gatson, to simply seeing him on their TV screens every night.
The fans’ reaction to WIS’ abrupt and so far unexplained firing of Ben Hoover is completely normal, and well-founded. It came as a surprise to Hoover himself, so the fact that his audience is thrown for a loop makes perfect sense.
No one enjoys having their routine being disrupted without warning or reason, and the loss of Hoover to the nightly news means that something in their lives, even if it seems small, is different without any foreknowledge of the change.
WIS should rethink their decision to fire Hoover, if the response from their viewership is anything to go by. The possible loss of ratings as a result of letting him go could be disastrous.
If not, here’s hoping Hoover finds greener pastures somewhere else, and we can soon hear him say, “Good evening, I’m Ben Hoover” again.