Snowbird Fired, Internet Erupts

NASHVILLE, TN — There's no easy way to put this, no sugar coating that will make it better: Snowbird has been fired.

The oversized penguin who has served as WSMV Channel 4's weather mascot for decades has been completely erased from the station's web site and social media and Steven Good, the man has worn the suit for 24 years, portraying the beloved bird at elementary schools and parades, was laid off, along with at least six other people, according to the Nashville Scene.

(For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

"That’s what I think I brought to the character is that he wasn’t like a ficus plant. He was interactive and as real as Bill Hall or Lisa Spencer or anyone else," Good told the Scene. "My holy trinity was Jim Henson and Fred Rogers and Bob Keeshan. You could reach kids and teach kids and interact with them. I had no problem going to K-second grade kids and reading them silly penguin books. I think that has value. I think that was a good way to get in the door."

Snowbird was one of the last connections to the 1980s and 1990s Channel 4 "Dream Team" that dominated local news ratings. That group included the late Bill Hall, the meteorologist who served as Snowbird's best human pal (Snowbird's best animal pal was Myron the Rat, as Nashvillians of a certain age know) and the late Dan Miller, a beloved anchor. A third member of the Dream Team, sportscaster Rudy Kalis, announced his retirement this week. With Snowbird's departure, the only remaining member is anchor Demetria Kalodimos.

Good told the Scene that he thought the character itself would remain in some capacity — notably, school closings on WSMV are branded as "The Snowbird Report" and feature a distinctive "deetdutduh duh dutduhduhduh" jingle — though in the hours after the news broke, WSMV quietly scrubbed all traces of the avuncular avian who has festooned everything from scarves to slippers to cookie jars over the years, often part of sweeps-week giveaways.

Twitter, however, was not quiet, with Snowbird leaping — he's a penguin, so he couldn't fly — to the top of the local trends list in Nashville. Some of the best — and less obscene — tweets are below: