![]() That happened with a tie on in the morning, at my gym, in my boxer shorts on the couch at night, or just out on the weekend. I love the opportunity to help generate a conversation with so many that have not met, and share important information as a storm moves through our area. I am grateful of how many of you have taken the time to share a bit of your world with me and make this part of your daily routine. This is just me, a guy who loves science, nature, awesome photos, neat or quirky stories, and the opportunity to share a little of myself (off camera) with anyone who wants to join in. This has never been about me as TV guy to fluff my own feathers. This platform on Facebook is more valuable than I can explain. This is a GOOD thing, and I truly believe that. What I can say is that I had a real smile on my face that day and since. There is a little sadness as this chapter closes, but nothing good can get accomplished if I focus on anything bad here. Anyway, the details with the station I am sorry I can't get into. Those who have followed along on this page have seen me offer up a discussion after many big storms with hopes that you will grade my work. Oh, and it definitely had nothing to do with a couple of missed calls for a dusting to an inch of snow near the beltway this winter -) I may love and push snow, but I stand by my record as a forecaster. That was pure coincidence and man, did Gene Norman got off easy. First I want to be clear, it had NOTHING to do with that Ravens bet on TV with the Houston Meteorologist last Friday. WMAR and I were unable to come to an agreement. Berk says he and his family are staying in Baltimore - and he's staying engaged with social media. But I definitely encourage you to read Berk's statement in full, because the longtime Baltimore meteorologist really does try to capture some of the ambiguities and mixed feelings of leaving a TV job - and they are the kind of nuances that rarely get included in news stories about comings and goings at local stations. What matters to the facts of his departure from Channel 2 is that it essentially agrees with Hooper's account reported here last night as to why Berk is no longer with the station. UPDATE 7:40 AM Wednesday: Berk posted his statement. I've been on TV in Baltimore for 14 (5 at WBAL), so I wanted to do this the right way." Here's a link to his Facebook page. Here's part of what he said: "I have been preparing a statement (rather long send off) that I will post tomorrow morning on my Facebook page. He says he feels he owes it to his Facebook community to handle it in this manner. UPDATE 9:15 PM Tuesday: Berk reponded to an email request for an interview aimed at ascertaining the facts of his departure by saying that he planned to post an explanation on his Facebook page Wednesday and would be happy to talk after that. "We've had a massive amount of people asking us to look at their tapes, and we will be filling the job," Hooper said. But Hooper says the station will begin looking for a full-time replacement right away. Anyone linking his leaving to the bet is just wrong." For now, part-time weathercaster Lynnette Charles will fill in. "It was one of those media bets - you know, 'I'll send you crab cakes if you win, and you'll send me barbecue if you lose,'" Hooper said. I won't be in on Monday, so hang on here for more." Berk's departure from WMAR "had nothing to do with that bet," Hooper told the Sun. "About that bet w/ Texas weatherman," Berk wrote on Facebook, "there is more to the story. Terms of the bet dictated the loser had to wear the opposing team's jersey on the air. Here's what TVSpy, for example, wrote in reporting the move Tuesday: On Friday, Berk made a bet with Gene Norman, the chief meteorologist at KHOU in Houston, on the outcome of the Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans playoff game. In the online world of media rumor, that bet has been linked to Berk's departure. On his Facebook page, Berk mentioned a bet he had with a weathercaster in Houston that involved the loser wearing the other team's jersey on air. Before that, he spent five years at WBAL-TV. So, we decided to go in a different direction." Berk had been with Baltimore's Scripps-owned ABC affiliate since 2003. "We have been going back and forth for months on terms of a contract, and the two sides just couldn't come together. "Friday was Justin's last day," Hooper said in a telephone insterview with the Sun Tuesday. Weatherman Justin Berk is no longer with Baltimore's WMAR-TV, according to Bill Hooper, the station's general manager. UPDATES Wednesday morning With Berk comments at end. Wednesday with more comments from Berk on reaction to his departure.
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