Popular meteorologist Rebecca Miller is off the air at KDAF/Channel 33, and says she is not planning to return to TV news.
"Channel 33 is starting a new format tonight, and I'm just not quite right for it," she said Thursday in response to an e-mail query. " I'm done with TV news. I'm not sure what I'll do next."
Miller is still best-known in DFW for the 17 years she spent at KXAS/Channel 5 before she was let go in 2008. Her departure created an outcry from longtime viewers of that station's news. She was off the air for six months, due to a non-compete clause in her contract, but eventually landed back in front of the camera at Channel 33.
The station is affiliated with the CW, which airs series that skew more youthful than the typical local-TV news audience, so its 9 p.m. newscast has often struggled with low ratings. The new format that Miller was referring to is going to be called Nightcap News, and it will reportedly follow the model of the station's offbeat, comedic morning show Eye Opener, according to local-TV blogger Ed Bark. Considering that Eye Opener hasn't really burned up the ratings yet, it seems like a bit of a risk to follow suit with the 9 p.m. newscast. Stay tuned.
As for Miller, she says she'd like to start her own public-speaking consulting firm -- "from helping recent grads interview for jobs to coaching attorneys to coaching anyone needing to give presentations." But she hasn't really figured out her next move yet.
Three and a half years ago, when Miller was named chief meteorologist at Channel 33, I profiled her in a story in which she mentioned studying for a degree in homeland security at Texas A&M, with a possibility of working for FEMA. But she says FEMA currently doesn't have any openings in her areas of expertise.
She is also an excellent cake baker and decorator, which she talked about last year in DFW.com's Secret Lives of Anchors story.
According to Bark's report, Miller is under contract at Channel 33 through the end of the year and the station will honor that, but Miller reportedly is free to leave if she finds another job.
