Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Humphries Leads WYFF Past Tragedy

11/12/2018

Often times being a leader means giving people direction. Other times, it means providing support and comfort.

John Humphries

That was the case for John Humphries, president and general manager of Hearst Television-owned WYFF in Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C., last Memorial Day, when anchor and reporter Mike McCormick and videographer Aaron Smeltzer died while covering the effects of Tropical Storm Alberto. A tree fell on their SUV just after they left an interview with Tryon, N.C., Fire Chief Geoffrey Tennant.

About 10 minutes after the interview, the fire department got word that a tree had fallen on a car and when the chief and his team showed up, they instantly recognized the logo on the car of the two guys who had just interviewed him, said Humphries, who is B&C's GM of the Year for markets 26-50.

McCormick had been with the station for 11 years, working as a reporter four days a week and as the Sunday evening anchor. He was about to become the station's full-time weekend anchor when the incident happened. Smeltzer had just joined the station a few months prior, and had switched to WYFF because he wanted to work with McCormick, who was beloved in the community, said Humphries.

There's no chapter in the GM handbook for this, said Humphries, whose station is top-rated overall in the market with leading newscasts at 6 a.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. But I don't think it's a whole lot different in the business setting than in the personal setting. The chief thing to do is to be present, listen and allow people to share and give in their own way. There were several people in the newsroom for whom Mike was their very best friend.

The response from the community, competitors and the corporation was immediate.

As often happens and this is not unique to us you learn you can hold opposing emotions at the same time, Humphries said. You can have a deep sense of grief while you also have this overwhelming sense of gratitude for the response of the community and of the industry. We immediately got phone calls and emails from all of the stations in nearby markets expressing their sadness and asking what they could do to help.

Covering rough and risky weather has become par for the course at the South Carolina station. Not long after that, one of the station's reporters found herself covering a scene where yet another tree had fallen on a mobile home. And in September, Humphries had to send crews back out to cover Hurricane Florence.

To put people in harm's way after what had just happened, we weren't even close to being recovered, Humphries said. There was angst there for sure.

Often times being a leader means giving people direction. Other times, it means providing support and comfort.

That was the case for John Humphries, president and general manager of Hearst Television-owned WYFF in Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C., last Memorial Day, when anchor and reporter Mike McCormick and videographer Aaron Smeltzer died while covering the effects of Tropical Storm Alberto. A tree fell on their SUV just after they left an interview with Tryon, N.C., Fire Chief Geoffrey Tennant.Subscribe for full article

Member Exclusive

Get Access to Our Exclusive Content

Learn MoreAlready subscribed? Log In
LINK: https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/humphries-leads-wyff-past-trage...
See more stories from bandc

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

28/04/2026

WNBA to Stream All Preseason Games for Free

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation Sets 30 Days of Giving'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Sinclair's Chief Compliance Officer Jeff Lewis to Retire

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Nielsen Introduces Predictive Sales Lift' Tool

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Sencore's VB440 Monitoring, Analysis Tool Debuts at NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Pinterest Makes a Major Push into CTV Advertising

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Introducing Nx 3-Strip v2 - A Physics-Based Technicolor Reconstruction for DaVinci Resolve

Introducing Nx 3-Strip v2 - A Physics-Based Technicolor Reconstruction for DaVin...

27/04/2026

CES Power Acquires Three Ireland-Based Businesses

CES Power, a provider of infrastructure for live events, has announced the acquisition of three Ireland-based businesses: GH Energy Rental Ltd, Event Power, and...

27/04/2026

Fubo to Launch Multiview on Select LG TVs Ahead of 2026 Football Season

FuboTV Inc. has announced it is developing its Multiview feature for the Fubo streaming service on select LG TVs, including 2024, 2025, and newer 4K and 8K mode...

27/04/2026

Shade Raises $14 Million in Funding Round Led by Khosla Ventures

Shade, a file management platform for creative teams, has announced a $14 million funding round led by Khosla Ventures, Construct Capital, and Bling Capital, br...

27/04/2026

AES to Present Immersive Audio Academy 12th Edition on April 30

The Audio Engineering Society (AES) will present the Immersive Audio Academy 12th Edition - Immersive Audio in All Flavors - on April 30, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. ...

27/04/2026

DAZN Launches DAZN48 Creator Program for FIFA World Cup 2026

DAZN has announced DAZN48, a creator program for the FIFA World Cup 2026 that will recruit 48 creators - one representing each of the 48 qualified nations - to ...

27/04/2026

FloSports Acquires Streaming Rights to Four CrossFit Events

FloSports has announced exclusive streaming rights to four CrossFit competitions: Legends Del Mar: CrossFit Semi-Finals, Magic City Games, NorCal Classic, and t...

27/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream Pulse Named NAB Show 2026 Product of the Year for Monitoring and Measuring

Telestream has announced that Pulse, its software-defined test and measurement p...

27/04/2026

NAB 2026: Shade Wins 2026 NAB Show Product of the Year Award

Shade has announced it is a Cloud Computing and Storage winner in the 2026 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. Winners were selected by a panel of industry exp...

27/04/2026

SVG All-Stars: Kelsey Kjeldsen, Senior Director and Video Ads Platform Lead, DTC Products, Tech, and Operations, NBA

Leading the NBA's video-ads platform, this Penn State grad is at the forefro...

27/04/2026

DAZN Extends T100 Triathlon World Tour Rights to Africa

DAZN has expanded its international broadcast rights for the T100 Triathlon World Tour to include Africa. All races from the T100 calendar will be available for...

27/04/2026

NAB 2026: NAB Show Announces 2026 Project and Product of the Year Award Winners

NAB Show has announced the recipients of its 2026 Project of the Year and Product of the Year Awards at a ceremony at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Each wi...

27/04/2026

DIRECTV Launches on Meta Quest Headsets as Sports Season Heats Up

DIRECTV has launched on Meta Quest headsets, becoming the first MVPD to offer live TV through the platform. The timing coincides with the stretch run of the MLB...

27/04/2026

TBL Team Boxing League and MSG Networks Announce Broadcast Partnership

TBL Team Boxing League has announced a broadcast agreement with MSG Networks to air all remaining Season 4 fights live across MSG's television and digital p...

27/04/2026

Audio Exhibitors Showcase New Platforms, Innovative Solutions for Complex Issues

IP integration, interoperability, growth of intercommunications were key concerns for vendors and visitors alike Attendees at the recently concluded 2026 NAB S...

27/04/2026

Behind The Mic: Kenny Beecham to Launch NBA Radio Show on SiriusXM; Mike Tomlin to Join NBC Pregame Show

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

27/04/2026

On the Show Floor, the Microphone Is Still the Place Where Audio Begins

A pro-audio emphasis, spectrum changes, and on-field audio mark the new products and enhancements to existing offerings Microphones remain the primary point of...

27/04/2026

NAB Show 2026 In Review: Our Complete Collection of Video Interviews with Industry Thought Leaders

The Sports Video Group team was all over the NAB Show floor out in Las Vegas las...

27/04/2026

Svenska artister genererade nra 2 miljarder kronor frn Spotify under 2025

N r Spotify grundades f r 20 r sedan dominerades musikmarknaden av illegal nedladdning. Sedan dess har streaming bidragit till att teruppr tta betalningsvilja...

27/04/2026

Introducing Fitness With Spotify: A New Way to Bring Movement Into Your Daily Routine

Time on Spotify should feel meaningful and intentional, not something that slips...

27/04/2026

Brainworx release bx_tonebox

New modular multi-effects plug-in revealed The latest plug-in from Brainworx delivers a modular set of effects designed to offer a convenient alternative to...

27/04/2026

Desert Island Boom Set from Schoeps

Kit includes supercardioid & shotgun capsules High-end mic manufacturer Schoeps have recently introduced another member of their Desert Island Set family. O...

27/04/2026

Sound Skulptor introduce the LA502T

LA2A-inspired 500-series module arrives Sound Skulptor have announced the upcoming launch of a new 500-series module that aims to recreate one of the most p...

27/04/2026

Stam Audio announce the SA-4000+

SSL-inspired compressor unit upgraded Stam Audio are well known for their painstaking recreations of vintage audio gear, with their extensive product range ...

27/04/2026

Study: Local TV Political Ad Spend to Top $4 billion in 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/04/2026

Nippon TV's In-House Proprietary AI Solution AiDi Wins Product of the Year Award at NAB 2026

Nippon TV's In-House Proprietary AI Solution AiDi Wins Product of the Year A...

27/04/2026

Outpost Introduces Unlimited Collaboration Model for Review and Approval Workflows

Outpost Introduces Unlimited Collaboration Model for Review and Approval Workflo...

27/04/2026

Ikegami Announces VFE-P07D Monocular OLED Viewfinder with Tiltable 3.5-inch LCD Monitor

Ikegami Announces VFE-P07D Monocular OLED Viewfinder with Tiltable 3.5-inch LCD ...

27/04/2026

Custom Consoles Completes Large Module-R MCR Desk and Med...

Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large Module-R desk and MediaWall monitor display mount for an expanded master control room at Gravity Medias West...

27/04/2026

Other World Computing Launches OWC Express 4M2 Ultra - Thunderbolt 5 Four-Slot NVMe M.2 SSD Enclosure

Other World Computing Launches OWC Express 4M2 Ultra - Thunderbolt 5 Four-Slot N...

27/04/2026

Netflix announces El sobrino, the new film by Damin Szifron starring Leonardo Sbaraglia

Back to All News Netflix announces El sobrino, the new film by Dami n Szifron s...

27/04/2026

Red Seat Ventures Announces Exclusive Multiyear Partnership with Kill Tony

Red Seat Ventures Announces Exclusive Multiyear Partnership with Kill Tony The Company is the New Monetization and Distribution Home for the Globally Popula...

27/04/2026

RT 2FM launches nationwide quest for next superstar DJ to play Forbidden Fruit Festival

RT 2FM is calling on aspiring DJs across Ireland to take their shot at the spot...

27/04/2026

RT is Supporting 32 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this May

RT continues to champion Ireland's creative life this May, supporting a broad range of festivals, exhibitions and performances across music, theatre, liter...

26/04/2026

Director Yoon Jong-bin Returns with The Generals' (WT), An Incisive Chronicle of a Second-in-Command

Back to All News Director Yoon Jong-bin Returns with The Generals' (WT), A...

26/04/2026

'Nine Queens,' Starring Alvaro Morte and Patrick Criado, Starts Production

Back to All News Nine Queens, Starring Alvaro Morte and Patrick Criado, Starts ...

25/04/2026

Spotify and Vogue Celebrate Music and Culture in Mexico City

In the heart of Mexico City, music, culture, and fashion converged last night as Spotify and Vogue Latin America welcomed guests to an intimate gathering at Soh...