Jackson Jambalaya

I have been watching wlbt for years. Tonight I have begun watching wjtv. I am a friend of and a fan of Walt Grayson and have been for years. Good luck Walt.

Not surprised.....something odd going on at 3. Their best meteorologist left them earlier in the year and at that time I consigned WLBT to the dumpster. However, I discovered some really talented folks at 12 and 16.....so all is good.

Kingfish, that is the worst headline all-time on JJ. I thought he was dead. Please revise.

Who was 3's "best meteorolgist"?

WLBT is getting more and more politically motivated. Just watch the garbage and the hateful comments they allow on their posts on Facebook. It is sad to see them continually slide into he abyss, Sad...

Part of the problem may be that Raycom merged with or was sold to Gray Television. That is causing some major changes at many stations that were formerly Raycom, especially where there was an overlapping market. I have family that is with the former Raycom station in Panama City and they have had quite a shakeup. Another problem with keeping good talent in the Jackson market is that Jackson a stepping stone for youngsters working their way up to bigger markets. I realize that is not the case with Walt, or some of the other long time on air people at WLBT (and other stations as well), so I would put my money on a shakeup being the reason Walt has moved on. I wish him well! Oh, @ 6:17/7:51, you are correct about Heather Sophia, she was good...and cute!

I want to say he was on WJTV years ago maybe in the 80's

I knew something was wrong when Howard Ballou was doing the news and the sports.

Where’s Woody Assaf when you need him? That guy was dependable.

Look at the way they did Bert. And Bell Flynt before that. They allowed people like Barbie to become movie stars (or so she thought) and Marsha should have been jettisoned years before she retired. I've been fed up for years with the duo of Howard and Magnolia. Paul, the Preacher-Weatherman was a joke. The turnover has been tremendous for two decades. Who the hell comes to this market with intentions of staying?

But, let reality sink in here....Grayson, and I like some of his stuff, was not news and he was not weather. He was a mix of hokey-travel and outhouse humor. Is that why we really tune in to watch the news?

There is no "news" in Jackson anymore.

Who got shot / stabbed?

What did Kennuf say today?

Pot holes, water leaks, etc.

If you are bored enough to tune in, here comes the car commercials, Richard Schwartz and the other junk. Not for me.

To be honest Grayson is an arrogant jackass in person. Howard Ballou is the one that needs to go along with maggie wade.

I watch WAPT.

Megan West is insufferable. No thanks.

Amen 9:06 a.m. on Howard and Maggie being jettisoned. I thought they were going to have Marsha stuffed and mounted in order to keep her. There is a time to retire.

I enjoy W. Grayson's Mississippi segments but that should be all he is doing.

My family quit watching the news on WLBT a year or so back after it being our go to news channel for years. We tried WJTV snd WAPT and just liked both better. Also, for me every time I watched WLBT I found i was distracted by Howard and Maggie’s hands moving around while they gave the news. I know it is crazy, but look for yourself. They both need to sit on their hands. Looking forward to seeing Walt on WJTV. Have watched and enjoyed him for years.

10:12 Ditto on Maggie's hands!!!! Plus the way she pauses her near-end sentence phrasing for some sort of emphasis? Drives me nuts!!

9:06 If you think Walt Grayson is a jack ass, you have never met him. I have and he could not be farther from a jack ass than he is.

People really watch this junk?

A related note since it has diverged to venting... Does it really mean anything that they ALWAYS have to precede the weatherperson with METEOROLOGIST or CHIEF METEOROLOGIST so-and-so. Nobody else does such.

And when they completely miss the forecast, they come back on the next day with the same mantra and "Pinpoint" forecasts. Sigh, it only I could keep my job by telling somebody that there was a 50% chance I think it would work.

Walt going to WJTV is like Archie being traded to the Oilers.

How many of you remember THAT?

I adore Maggie and Howard.
I also enjoy Scott Simmons on the weekends on WAPT. He should be the weekday main anchor.

I remember when he worked at WJPR while in high school......always has been a good guy

Station has gone to hell ever since the little elf quit doing the weather.

One of the biggest problems for WLBT is Mary Grace Epps. She's an ultra liberal feminist that is in charge of their digital stuff. Their social media posts race baiting articles with headlines that make you think they are local and they are from Indiana or Montana or something. People don't read the articles and the same commenters keep making an ass out of themselves. This clicks = success mantra has killed WLBT. Someone needs to realize it and make changes to their digital side. Its turned off a lot of viewers.

In his Facebook post about the move to WJTV, Walt says, " I'll be working with people who value and appreciate me." Interesting. Apparently he didn't feel that way about WLBT, at least not recently.

To 9:06 who said Walt Grayson is an arrogant whatever, I must differ with you. Many years ago I was on a publicity committee of a local church, and we needed someone to do an advertisement for our Easter pageant. I called Mr. Grayson and talked with him about doing it for us and discussed his price. He told me that he not only tithed his finances but he also tithed his time. He said he would do it for us for free, and he did. I have never forgotten that.

I will agree that Scott Simmons should be a fulltime anchor SOMEWHERE. He's the best.

Walt is probably a nice guy and does a good job with his 'around mississippi' program. But as a weather man, he sucks. He always sucked. It's obvious that it's not his cup of tea.

So....to recap. Walt is leaving. Television people turn over in jobs with great regularity. What's different here is that Walt is pissed off because the station didn't want him selling books and CDs while employed. So, he'll go where he thinks they're OK with that. The station had no obligation to fund or advertise his train trips out west or his local CD adventures.

But, I knew the place was nuts when it promoted Wilson to management level authority.

Amen on Mary Grace epps. I called her out on Twitter as an Obama loving radical and she agreed and the blocked me. Disgraceful.

Where is Woody Assaf when we need him? Don't forget WLBT kicked Woody to the curb too!

She blocked you because you are a nobody.

Woody is doing the weather in Heaven. Walt Grayson is a prince super nice guy have heard that from many many people and had the good fortune to meet him once.

Walt didn’t leave, he was let go cuz of a upcoming merge. Heather left to pursue other interests....have you seen her at another station? Don’t think so. Do any of you wrk at WLBT? Didn’t think so, let’s not make assumptions on what’s going on INSIDE a business that you’re not even part of. And wth does MGE have to do with what goes on on air? How bout everyone just worry about their own careers bc we all know what they say about people who make INCORRECT assumptions

11:13, I'm not on Twitter, but I am also an Obama loving radical. I'm happily disgraceful.

3:58 apparently either knows Mary Grace Epps through an employment relationship or it's MGE posting. 97% of us have never heard of her and have no idea what her role is, locally, if any. BTW, I've never known 'what they say about people who make INCORRECT assumptions'. Can you enlighten me?

PS: Keep that cardboard box handy. With your hot-headed attitude, you won't be with the station much longer.