WIVB-TV (Channel 4) chief meteorologist Todd Santos cleared up why he is willing to give up his title, saying he wants the “flexibility” to have more time to spend with his wife and three young children.
In a 15-minute telephone interview Tuesday night, Santos said he plans to stay at WIVB in a new weather role to be determined.
“I love Buffalo, I do not want to move, and I have no intention of going anywhere else but Channel 4,” said Santos, a Rhode Island native. “I obviously adore Buffalo. The heart of this city is real and pure. I fit in here as well as where I grew up. This is my way of trying to evolve the role.”
His status at the station came into question after WIVB recently posted a job opening for chief meteorologist. WIVB news director Lisa Polizzi confirmed the station was looking for a new role for Santos while pursuing a new chief meteorologist.
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“For me, it is about trying to get a little more flexibility for my family,” explained Santos. “I have three children, including a 1-year-old. I want to be involved in their growing up and involved in television at Channel 4.”
He added that he believes station management “is open to the concept” of Santos adjusting his schedule.
Polizzi confirmed that.
Santos, whose three children are ages 6, 4 and 1, is joining a local trend in broadcasting in which high-profile personalities are trying to find a better work-life balance and spend more time with their young children.
In a sense, he is following in the footsteps of WKBW-TV’s Jeff Russo and Ashley Rowe, who were allowed by the station to give up anchoring the 11 p.m. newscast to spend more time with their families.
With his current hours, Santos said he takes his children to school on Mondays, can kiss them before bedtime and doesn’t see them again until the weekend.
Santos, whose wife Emily works remotely as a senior vice president of a North Carolina bank, added the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced his thinking.
“I’m looking at things differently because of what we’ve been through the last two years,” said Santos. “The importance of valuing time with family even more so. The amount of sacrifice you do working in broadcasting is substantial.”
He added because of the February news sweeps, broadcasters typically can’t take time off for vacations when their children are off school for a week in Western New York.
“As they get older, that will be a bigger deal,” said Santos.
He understandably wouldn’t discuss his contract status, but acknowledged meteorologists across the country are part of a Facebook group that has written about raises at all media companies generally being held to 1% or 2% annually when inflation is close to 8%.
“For me, money isn’t the issue,” said Santos.
Judging by multiple comments from readers to a brief story Tuesday that revealed Santos was relinquishing his title as chief meteorologist, he is well respected and appreciated here.
The praise of Santos is even more impressive when you consider most comments to stories are negative and snarky.
“Todd Santos is an excellent meteorologist with that right mixture of precise language and inviting demeanor,” wrote one reader.
“Todd Santos is the best meteorologist in Buffalo and has been for years,” wrote another.
Santos replaced Don Paul as the station’s chief meteorologist six years ago and has been at the station for almost nine years.
Santos was the morning and noon meteorologist when he joined WIVB in August of 2013 and became chief meteorologist in March of 2016.
He arrived at Channel 4 after four years at the Weather Channel (2009-2013) and worked at NBC, MSNBC and NBC Weather Plus before that.
“I am approaching 20 years in the business, and I’ve done a lot of what I wanted to do,” said Santos. “A new role is my way of refreshing myself and improving.”
