ABC 33/40′s James Spann shared more of his thoughts Monday night on news that Allen Media Broadcasting “laid off every single meteorologist” in cities nationwide in favor of the Weather Channel.

Spann said he “feels so badly for those who lost their jobs …. I know it’s traumatic when you lose a job.”

The company, which operates 27 broadcast television stations in 21 U.S. markets, has announced plans to begin using “local weather coverage powered by The Weather Channel across local markets nationwide.”

That includes WAAY in Huntsville, where meteorologist Amber Kulick posted: “I am still at the station but I am looking for my next career opportunity.”

On WeatherBrains, an online video gathering of meteorologists across the nation, Spann and others encouraged those laid off to reach out for support and guidance.

Spann said the move is part of the ever-evolving nature of broadcast news and weather.

“Some people are just furious,” Spann said. “They feel like those local meteorologists are part of their family.”

However, Spann he feels “so positive for the future” of the industry.

“There’s going to be a lot of short-term pain …. But, there will be long-term gain in that the products and services we deliver will still be there on different platforms, but in a much more efficient way.”

Spann said he’s seen many changes since he started in the industry in June 1978 at a station in Tuscaloosa.

“The days of linear television are over,” Spann said. “The audience (for traditional TV broadcasts) are just tiny and so that model has gone away.”

The audience for what he called the “Ron Burgundy newscast” is getting older, Spann said in reference to “Anchorman,” the 2004 Will Ferrell comedy. As that happens, “the products of a bygone era are going away.”

“And that’s OK,” Spann said. “It’s a wake-up call that we have to be cognizant of that, we have to be where people are and understand how they consume media and provide products and services in that world.”

Spann said a new generation emerging from college will help build a new model for the industry. “I want to help build the new model.”

That model, he said, includes TikTok and being willing “to build your own brand.”

“We’re not going away,” Spann said. “As horrible as this is, in the long-term I’m excited. Can the Weather Channel adequately do live tornado warning coverage for Tupelo, Miss., Huntsville, Ala.? I guess I don’t really know until it happens.”

However, Spann said the ability to provide live tornado coverage requires knowledge of an area’s geography and microclimate and “you can’t really do that from a distance.”

“I could do a tornado outbreak in Nebraska, but I’d be horrible at it. I don’t understand the people, the culture, the geography.”

“Warnings, in particular, aren’t just technology, they are a social process,” added meteorologist Kim Klockow-McClain. “One of the first things you do is learn how to pronounce every town because it’s these things that really matter to people.

The “hubs” envisioned by Allen, Spann said, won’t be able to do that successfully.

“It’s changing and we’ve all got to change,” Spann said of the industry.

“I cannot leave a dumpster fire for this next generation…Most of them now aren’t even interested in broadcast television. They’re going to go and work for the weather service because of the dying business model,” he said.

Spann said his employer, Sinclair Broadcasting, allows him to do the job as he see fits and he doesn’t plan to retire – he wants to die in front of a green screen while doing a weather broadcast.

“I can’t wait to come to work every day.”

Still, the move has many concerned.

A change.org petition with more than 32,000 signatures was started in Tupelo, Miss. to stop layoffs at WTVA.

“Removal of our local meteorological team means losing the trust and confidence built over the years, and replacing them with outsourced teams who may not fully understand the unique weather patterns in our locality. In times of severe weather, immediate and accurate information is not a luxury—it’s a necessity,” the petition states.