EXCLUSIVE
Sacked weatherman Paul Burt has sent a farewell letter to Seven Network staff two days after delivering an extraordinary farewell speech live on the television channel.
Burt, who worked at Seven for more than a decade and spent 28 years in television, was sacked without notice amid a brutal round of redundancies.
The 51-year-old’s departure angered some loyal viewers who expressed their outrage on social media and fans flocked to one of Burt’s final live streams at Surfers Paradise Beach with signs.
Now, Daily Mail Australia has obtained an email Burt sent to co-workers after his final broadcast, where he argued he had a track record of giving Queensland audiences the weather updates they “deserved”.
“Hey everyone, I never thought I’d be writing this email so soon, but here we go,” Burt wrote Monday afternoon.
‘First and foremost, I want to thank everyone I’ve worked with directly. You’ve all been incredibly amazing and done sensational work and deserve so much more recognition than you get.
‘Secondly, those of you who reached out to me after the news broke over the weekend and today to ‘check in’ and pass on your kind words, wow, that’s been very rewarding, so thank you.’
A source close to Seven told Daily Mail Australia that Burt was sacked because he was unpopular with discussion groups surveyed in the first quarter of this year.
Sacked weatherman Paul ‘Burty’ Burt has been overwhelmed by messages of support from senior Seven Network staff after sending a heartfelt farewell to his former colleagues. Burt is pictured delivering his final report on July 27
“Paul Burt was axed after extensive audience research in the Queensland market identified him as one of the least liked presenters on air, with the dreaded ‘turn-off’ factor,” the source said.
‘Networks spend a fortune on surveys and focus groups to identify emerging talent and evaluate veteran anchors. The audience decides who reads the news.’
Burt dismissed that research, saying in his email that “I’m just a guy who loves to tell you the weather ‘my way’ – no bullshit, just fish to fish, boat to boat, just the way we deserve it.”
‘Not overproduced, just providing the best up-to-date reports on coastal conditions to those in our local community, those with whom we share the water or pass by a jetty casting a line with their kids – our audience.’
Seven West Media, which also owns the West Australian newspaper, is sacking 150 staff in a bloodbath that has claimed the lives of other big names including Brisbane news presenter Sharyn Ghidella.
Seven West Media is sacking 150 staff in a round of redundancies that has hit other big names including Brisbane news presenter Sharyn Ghidella. Burt is pictured left with former Seven colleagues
Queensland network operations manager Craig Dyer announced his immediate resignation in June after more than 20 years at Seven.
Others forced to leave the Brisbane studio at Mount Coot-Tha included two cameramen, a news producer and a long-serving technical staff member.
One of the cameramen was reportedly called into the office while he was filming a job and told that his services were no longer needed.
Burt, who worked on the Gold Coast but provided weather reports across Queensland, referred to Ghidella, Dyer and other staff members in his email.
“I loved what I did for the last 28 years,” he wrote.
‘Providing insight into the field I loved and I was fortunate to share the screen with some of the biggest names in television and form friendships with them and the dedicated, experienced and hard-working people behind the scenes.
‘Thanks for that.
‘We have entered a digital age. I would have been proud to have participated in this digital change, but unfortunately it was not the case and I did not have the opportunity to choose.
“I love the network and, like our viewers, they loved Channel 7. When people who are loyal to Ch7 continue to follow it, that says something in my world.”
His farewell read: “On that note, see you in the water someday and for those who want to, let’s keep in touch. Burty.”
Burt ended his final weather segment on Saturday with a direct message to Seven’s management and viewers.
“If I’d had the chance, I wouldn’t have wanted to go down this path – that’s what happens when you get fired,” he said at the end of Queensland’s 6pm news bulletin.
Last night, a crowd of supporters gathered in Surfers Paradise as Burt made a live feed for the 5.30pm Gold Coast bulletin
As Burt gave his weather forecast for the weekend, fans held up signs reading ‘Burty is a legend’, ‘Queensland’s favourite weatherman’ and ‘Bring back Burty’.
Burt told Daily Mail Australia that if Seven had conducted an investigation that determined he was unpopular with Queensland audiences, the broadcaster would have to find new investigators.
“I mean these people are going to try to cover their backs,” he said.
‘I think if they look at numbers like that, they might want to change the people who give them those numbers.
“Because I’m on the ground, I hear what people say and understand what they want. I’ve been doing this for 28 years.”
Burt posted a video thanking viewers for their loyalty, which was posted on the I Love Robina Facebook page and received 60,000 views. He is seen in Surfers Paradise on July 26.
Burt said Queensland had unique weather patterns that regularly included life-threatening events such as cyclones and severe flooding.
“I think you have to understand that the network put us in all these places when the cyclones were covered,” he said.
“When the weather got really bad, they wanted troops on the ground to get the information to people at home.”
The Queensland public was also particularly reliant on accurate weather updates to enable outdoor leisure activities such as boating and fishing.
“People see us everywhere we go,” Burt said.
“People see us on the pier. People see us fishing. People see us on the beaches.”
Seven’s Brisbane news director Michael Coombes told Burt last month that his contract would not be renewed. News of his dismissal leaked out before Burt could tell his wife and children.
Burt began his television career at Seven in 1996, before being signed by Ten and then Nine, and in 2013 he was lured back to the network where he started in the industry.
“Don’t get me wrong, I really admire the net,” he said. I love the net. I really do.
“Unfortunately, I think things could have been handled a little differently in certain sectors of the newsroom at this point.”
Seven’s recently appointed head of news and current affairs Anthony De Ceglie has been replacing section leaders across the country with younger managers.
It has also introduced a comedy slot on Friday nights and astrology on the news.
Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide have new news directors and new executive producers have taken over Sunrise, Weekend Sunrise and Spotlight.