Beloved Meteorologist Latest To Leave WSMV

NASHVILLE, TN — Channel 4 meteorologist Paul Heggen is the latest popular personality from the once-dominant local station to announce his departure.

Heggen posted on Facebook he last day at WSMV will be November 19 as he is relocating to take a job with CBS affiliate WNCN in Raleigh, N.C..

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

Heggen, now in his eighth year on Channel 4, is one of the most popular local TV personalities, known for appearances of his dog, Dagny, on Friday broadcasts of WSMV's morning show. The station's decision to move Heggen off the morning show and into a lower-profile weekend role — a move that also, necessarily, meant retirement from the small screen for Dagny — sparked a torrent of complaints on social media and a flood of letters to the station.

Heggen was the only meteorologist to appear in the top three of the Reader's Choice Best TV Personality in the Nashville Scene's recently announced Best of Nashville awards. He also finished third in Best Local Twitter Account.

WSMV has gone through a number of high profile departures in recent months. Long-time sports anchor Rudy Kalis announced his retirement in August, just days before Channel 4 fired the actor who portrayed Snowbird. Reporters Dennis Ferrier and Jennifer Johnson and meteorologist Nancy Van Camp also left or were fired.

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. After Kalis' retirement, the only remaining member of that powerful group will be anchor Demetria Kalodimos.

Photo via Paul Heggen, used with permission