Budget cutbacks cost WXIA's "Atlanta & Company" hosts Holly Firfer and Tom Sullivan their jobs today, Sullivan confirmed.
Sullivan, who used to be a full-time sidekick for Steve & Vikki at Star 94 until 2007, has been at “Atlanta & Company” for nearly two years. Firfer, who has anchored at CNN Headline News & hosted at Dave FM, worked at “Atlanta & Company” from the very start in the fall of 2005.
With revenues dropping, Gannett, which owns WXIA-TV, this year has instituted furloughs, staff cuts and pay cuts.
As freelancers, neither Firfer nor Sullivan received benefits and get no severance. Laura Hale, their boss, offered them to do a farewell show Monday but Sullivan was not inclined to do so.
He said Hale sat them down after today’s show at noon. She told them they had to go to a single host. At first, Sullivan said, he joked that this was like “American Idol.” Only one of them would stay. But Hale had bad news for both: she said they worked best as a team. They were both being let go. “She was in tears,” Firfer said of Hale.
“I had a little cry in the office,” Sullivan said. “I hugged people goodbye. Our staff was the best. I loved doing this so much. Saying goodbye to the show is tough. Just right now I can’t see the future. It seems so sad. But hopefully, when one door closes, another one opens up. We’ll see what happens.”
Firfer was more philosophical, less emotional. "It's the nature of the business," she said. "I told Tom that everything happens for a reason. There are no accidents. It's another step in the process." It softens the blow, she notes, that her husband Shawn Arnold recently got a full-time job.
Neither Firfer nor Sullivan had a clue this was coming. And neither are paid a gargantuan amount of money either.
"Atlanta & Company" has named Christine Pullara as the solo host. She has worked with NASCAR and HGTV. "I bet she's doing it more for exposure" than the pay, Firfer said. "She'll be a great host." Sullivan said she has subbed for Firfer when Firfer is was on vacation.
I'm awaiting Bob Walker, the general manager, for comment.
The show, which airs at 11 a.m. weekdays on WXIA, doesn’t get much in the way of ratings but it’s a pay-for-play set up. So if a business wants to pay some cash, they could get interviewed by Holly or Tom — at least until today. The rest of the hour had been mostly filled with celebrity news, patter between Holly and Tom and celebrity interviews, usually promoting NBC Universal shows.
Firfer has been freelancing at her former employer CNN and will have more time to do so now.
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