Friday was Allison Kropff’s last day at WVLT. She starts her new job at WTSP in Tampa on October 10. The Florida station is owned by Gannett, which also owns WBIR in Knoxville. Gannett wins twice. They get a quality employee at their station in Tampa and they remove a tremendous asset from their direct competitor in Knoxville.
I used Twitter to congratulate Allison and her husband Justin. I’ve always enjoyed talking with them at various charity events and at an Einstein Simplified show earlier this year. In response to my tweets, Allison called in to Star 102.1 and spoke with Marc Anthony and me. I suggested that she jump into the shot of the floral centerpiece at the end of Chef Walter’s cooking segment during the noon news. On an average weekday, the shot of the centerpiece is the longest 17 seconds in local television.
The good news is that Chef Walter shortened his segment to allow time for a nice good-bye to Allison. Weather specialist Heather Haley made sure I saw it. Allison joked that her farewell wave was just for me. The bad news is that the cooking video posted to WVLT’s website ends after 98 seconds instead of the usual two-and-a-half to three minutes. I was hoping Allison’s noon sign-off would be preserved in cyber-perpetuity.
I grew up watching WTSP! Allison is going to a great place to live. I went to the Academy of the Holy Names high school on Bayshore Blvd. and lived in Temple Terrace. I hope Allison brings great weather to my hometown!