Leigh Ann Towne’s Quitting Fox 17 Is A Real Eye-Opener
For fans of Fox 17's Morning Mix show, today was quite a jolt, and longtime co-host Leigh Ann Towne announced she is leaving the TV station. Towne has been with the station for over a decade, and is moving into the private sector.
(Fox 17 WXMI via YouTube)
"After about 11 years, FOX 17's Leigh Ann Towne is hanging up her coupon clippers and crafting supplies to focus on her growing High Five Bargain Bling business." - Fox 17 release.
Towne came to the station in 2011 as a reporter and then began anchoring weekend newscast. In 2013, she began do consumer segments and when the station started it's daily lifestyle show in 2014, she was named the host of it.
Two things jump out as eye-opening for me. The first being how much "churn" there has been in local television in the past several years, mirroring the rest of society. Many on-air personalities have been leaving local television stations. Almost the entire Fox 17 Morning news line-up has turned over, with the exception of Kevin Craig and Robb Westaby. Other local show have seen similar turn over. And in fact, all the local stations have seen a higher amount of turnover than in the past, though many venerable names still remain, especially at WOOD-TV.
The other thing that surprised me is how much information there is on the internet about people, not just local celebrities, but just average people. Without getting into too much detail, it would not be a mistake to say privacy is a thing of the past.