WCCO-TV morning anchor Kim Johnson has been fired. Johnson announced the news via a Monday morning Facebook post.
“They told me they wanted to go in a different direction,” Johnson said Monday. “This is just part of the industry. It’s not as shocking to me as it maybe is to others.”
A WCCO spokesperson offered a statement from management: “We are restructuring various operations at CBS as part our ongoing integration with Viacom, and to adapt to changes in our business, including those related to COVID-19. Our thoughts today are with our departing colleagues for their friendship, service and many important contributions to CBS.”
Johnson, who has been with WCCO since 2014, was on vacation last week. She got the call on Wednesday.
Viewers began contacting Johnson Monday morning when she was not back on the air. That’s when she decided to announce the news via Facebook. “I didn’t want people to think I was ignoring them or avoiding the matter,” she said. “I wanted to get out ahead of it.”
A Maple Grove native, Johnson interned at WCCO while attending the University of Minnesota. After graduating, she went on to work for Twin Cities PBS and stations in Duluth, Green Bay, the Quad Cities and Salt Lake City. Her reporting over the years earned Johnson a regional Edward R. Murrow award and three Emmys.
“I have all the respect in the world for WCCO and my co-workers,” she said. “This has been the best couple of years of my life. The hardest thing for me has been to watch one of the most devastating times ever in my home state and I haven’t been able to do any reporting. That’s been really challenging. I’ve been watching my colleagues in the industry, both print and TV, and I’ve never been prouder of my profession.”