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In August, as Hurricane Idalia strengthened over the Gulf of Mexico and the storm’s Florida landfall seemed imminent, Channing Frampton wanted to be at the WTXL anchor desk. He’d worked at the Scripps-owned ABC affiliate in Tallahassee, Fla., for three-and-a-half years, and spent a lot of time suited and seated in front of a camera. After multiple promotions he gladly assumed greater responsibilities off the set, behind the scenes; however, while moving up he told WTXL’s GM Matt Brown to still consider him for anchor duty when needed during emergency situations. Frampton cherished the role too much and wanted to be relied upon for news delivery by the WTXL team and the station’s viewers.
So there he was, on air at the desk when Idalia struck, informing the local community about power outages, reminding its citizens about safety measures they should take and narrating what fortunately turned out to be a less-destructive outcome than had been anticipated.
But Frampton felt a burst of pride not only in his own job well done, executed under hotter lights, in front of a more tensely attentive audience than on a typical day. He beamed over reports, live from the field as the storm surged through the area, as well as produced packages, filed by two of his colleagues that week. Both were recent college graduates and fresh hires he’d mentored as the station’s “executive reporter,” a new position at WTXL, and one that Scripps will continue to staff at additional stations, too.
“Seeing