Blaine Tolison (pictured right) is leaving and Steve Barrett (left) has left Orlando Cox-owned ABC affiliate WFTV.
Orlando Sentinel media writer Hal Boedeker reports Tolison is staying within the Cox family and moving to Charlotte, N.C. to anchor mornings on WAXN and report for WSOC.
Barrett left Friday and is moving to Minneapolis to be closer to his family.
“I’ll miss it and I’ll be honest, it might be my last day ever on TV,” he wrote on Facebook on a page he called A Somber Goodbye. “… ehhh… no it won’t. It can’t. It’s in my blood… my blood will just be thicker in Minnesota.”
I’ve been here more than a few years. 13 to be exact. So I feel more like the janitor that watches them all come and go. I’ve had the pleasure and honor of working with some of the best in the business here. Bob Jordan, Kirk Hawkins, Josh Einiger, Kenneth Moton, Kenneth Ryan Craig, Anthony DiLorenzo, Christopher Egert, Cory Reppenhagen, Cynthia Demos, Mark Boyle, Josh Benson, Josh Wilson, Bruce Wiley, Louis Bonnell, Bob Tweed, Lori Ann, Liz Artz, Eric Rasmussen, Erika Rasmussen, Vanessa Brewer Marilyn Vaca and Julie Szulczewski… I just can’t list them all. Then there are the others who still work here and will spread out around the world to do this work.
Tolison’s last day will be June 3.
“My last seven years at WFTV have been rewarding,” said Tolison. “As a Central Florida native, it was a joy to work in the market where I grew up. The Volusia County and Daytona Beach communities have been good to me both personally and professionally. I love Central Florida and the people here, so it is bittersweet to announce I’ll be taking on a new challenge with a great team in Charlotte, N.C.”