We’re sorry to learn that WFSB sportscaster John Holt will be leaving Channel 3 at the end of the year.
WFSB is cutting back on sports coverage during its 6pm weekday newscast. There will no longer be a dedicated sports block at the end of the 6pm; sports news will still be reported but no differently than other local news according to management. The 11 pm news will have a local sports segment Wednesday – Sunday, the days that Joe Zone will now work.
Over the last few years WFSB has put a lot of emphasis on covering high school sports; it remains to be seen if the station will have the bandwidth to do that.
Presumably the fact that sports fans can get their scores off the web has altered viewing habits; what we don’t know is whether there is an industry trend to cut back on sports as a way to reduce positions. Perhaps other stations owned by Meredith, WFSB’s parent company, will follow suit. But as far as we know, WFSB is the first CT television station to eliminate its 6pm sports segment.
Back to John Holt. We at The Laurel know him as a reporter/producer who wins a lot of accolades for his work. He’s a terrific storyteller who has, among other prizes, won the New England Murrow Award for the past 6 years. He started at WFSB in 1999 doing part-time work and has been full-time for the past 13. We wish him all the best.
