Meteorologist Brad Maushart, who had interned at WKRC-TV with John Gumm and Tim Hedrick, is leaving the station Monday, April 24, after nearly four-and-a-half years as weekend morning forecaster.
He starts May 1 as a broadcast media enablement consultant for The Weather Company, the IBM firm which owns the weather graphics software and hardware used by Channel 12 and other TV stations.
"I'll also have weekends off for the first time since the summer of 2016 and 'normal people' hours — so I'll finally be able to sleep," says Maushart, who grew up in Guilford, Ind., watching Hedrick's forecasts on WKRC-TV. The East Central High School alum was hired by WKRC-TV in December 2018 after two years at WISH-TV in Indianapolis.
Maushart announced on Facebook Sunday evening that he's leaving the station.
"I am beyond grateful to have had the opportunities to share my love of weather with people all over the country. My 11-year television career has taken me to Anchorage, AK; Jackson, MS; Indianapolis, IN; and then finally back home to Cincinnati," Maushart announced in a Facebook post.
In an email, he told me, "I'll be exiting the TV business (kind of) to take a position with The Weather Company (IBM) … I'll be working remotely and traveling around the country/world to help other meteorologists look good on-air and get the most out of their investment. I'll likely also get to use my photography skills to improve graphics in the markets I visit, but that's not the primary objective.
"Basically, I'm breaking up with television, but I'd like to remain friends. My last day at WKRC will be April 24, and I will begin my new job on May 1. I'll still be maintaining my social media pages when the new job allows and might have more freedom for livestreams during big severe weather events and so on."
His boss, WKRC-TV Chief Meteorologist John Gumm, said the 2012 Ball State University graduate is pursuing "a more normal life outside of the TV news business"away from the Greater Cincinnati area.
"I'm going to miss you like crazy, but I couldn’t be more happy for you and what's next," Gumm wrote on Facebook. "I hope we can still get together when you're back in town to visit."
At 19, the shaggy-haired Maushart interviewed at WKRC-TV for a weather department internship, and became Gumm's "youngest intern ever" when Gumm was the Good Morning Cincinnati weatherman.
"Loved him; hired him. Taught him what little I knew about TV weather. Followed his career. Rooted him on. Developed a friendship. Fought to bring him back home to Cincinnati from Indianapolis even though I knew he was over-qualified for the weekend morning job," said Gumm, who was named chief meteorologist after Hedrick's death in 2016.
Maushart is the second meteorologist to quit Channel 12 in the past six months. Erica Collura left in October before giving birth to her second child.
"What most don't understand is that TV news is hard on people," Gumm explained in his Facebook post about Maushart's departure. "You don't work normal hours; you don't have a consistent schedule. You work nights, early mornings, weekends and holidays. And you don't get rich doing it." (I wrote about the higher than normal turnover in local TV newsrooms in December.)
Maushart referenced his WKRC-TV shifts in his goodbye, thanking his "family and close friends who have put up with my terrible/irregular schedule." He also thanked viewers for their loyal support over the years, and his colleagues and friends at Local 12 and "all prior stations for their support and dedication to bringing you the best weather coverage possible."
Maushart made his Cincinnati TV debut on WCPO-TV in 2016 as a freelance fill-in during Jennifer Ketchmark's maternity leave. Unable to get a full-time job here, he went to Indianapolis as weekend evening meteorologist at WISH-TV in 2017-2018. He had previously worked at TV stations in Anchorage, Alaska, and WJTV in Jackson, Miss., after graduating from Ball State in 2012.
"I grew up watching 12. Tim Hedrick was always on the TVand thanks to (former anchor) Dayna Eubanks introducing us, I got to meet him at a young age," Maushart told me in 2018. "I interned mostly with John Gumm, but did spend a little bit of time with Tim and attended a Grillin' With Tim segment in Cleves. I learned I needed several haircuts and just learned to be a decent human being more than anything from being around Tim. He was the best."
At Ball State, he was the Charlie Cardinal mascot for three years while earning a bachelor's degree in meteorology and climatology and a minor in emergency management and homeland security. Through college, Mauhsart also was co-owner of a storm-chasing company that provided footage of severe storms, tornadoes and hurricanes to several Midwest television stations, CNN and other national television outlets.
Among the "brief career highlights" the witty weatherman posted on Facebook were:
— Almost got killed by a moose while photographing auroras in Anchorage.
— Helped implement a mobile weather lab that chased more parades than tornadoes in Jackson.
— Won an Emmy Award in Indianapolis but was never given the statuette.
— Grew a beard in Cincinnati.
"However, it is now time for me to take on a new adventure," he continued in his post. "While I will no longer be on your tee-vee, your gas pump, in the weather lair or at your child's school on a visit, I will still attempt to maintain these social media channels. I might even have more time to dedicate to severe weather coverage online now that I won't have on-air responsibilities.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of your lives. My last day on-air in Cincinnati will be next Monday, April 24. I look forward to what the future holds and sharing more updates soon. Thank you again for everything, and please stay weather aware!"
