Sue Simmons: The Last Months were a Nightmare at WNBC
/Sue Simmons is finally talking about getting bounced from WNBC in New York.
She talked to the website FishbowlNY and she didn't pull any punches. She basically says that the stations started on a downward spiral after Comcast took over NBC.
“We started to see the handwriting on the wall as soon as we did a tremendous downsizing. We were not a newsroom anymore,” she said.
She also says her last several months at WNBC were a "nightmare".
“The last several months from March to June was pretty much a nightmare for me,” Simmons admits. “Because after you’ve worked with your teams and your friends for that long it’s very difficult to come to terms with the fact that it’s not going to be anymore.”
Simmons adds that there was no bitterness as she began the “farewell tour” at WNBC.
“How would you complain about 32 years at one job, in television, in New York City, and being part of the longest running anchor team in New York’s history?”
If it were her choice, Simmons says viewers would still be watching Chuck Scarborough and her each night.
“Part of me was hoping that. Unfortunately, I got mixed signals and I thought at the very end that I was going to stay,” Simmons says. “It turned out to be not true. People start talking; I just got the feeling that they had softened their position. So that was a bit of a jolt at the end.”
The feelings were so strong in the final weeks that emotions would get the best of her.
“I couldn’t talk about it without tearing up,” Simmons admits. “So, I’m just finally glad that’s over.”
