Chris May has announced that he is leaving KYW-TV, the CBS owned station in Philadelphia, New England One first reports.
"I've anchored my last broadcast at CBS3. Hope to see you all again" he said on Twitter, leaving one to assume it was an abrupt decision.
CBS 3 spokesperson Joanne Calabria tells New England One that "We thank Chris for his years of service and wish him the best in his future endeavors."
Chris joined KYW in 2007 as co-anchor of the weekend evening newscasts. In 2008 he was promoted to weekday evening anchor, and most recently co-anchored Eyewitness News at 5, 6 and 11 p.m., as well as Eyewitness News at 10 p.m. on The CW Philly 57. Since joining KYW, he has reported on stories like the 2008 Democratic and Republican Conventions as well as co-hosting the National Constitution Center's Liberty Medal telecast and CBS 3's coverage of the Phillies World Series Championship Parade. He was an integral part of storm coverage, spending 16 hours reporting on Superstorm Sandy when it hit the Jersey Shore. He has also followed up in covering the recovery and rebuilding process.
The suite accused him of saying "…a police supervisor at a Philadelphia charter school is fired over allegations of child sexual abuse. Howard Rubin is the suspect. He is accused in the sexual abuse of an underage male student. Rubin worked at the Multi-Cultural Charter School on North Broad Street."
The station allegedly chose as an accompanying graphic a photo of Howard Rubin, emblazoned with the word “Suspect.” However, Rubin wasn't fired from his job and he was never accused of sexual abuse. And according to Rubin's attorney, Derek Steenson, CBS never bothered to call Rubin for a comment. The day after the story ran, CBS 3 issued a correction and apology in its evening newscasts and sent a letter to the principal of the school, who, in turn, sent a letter to the parents of the school to address the "false story," writing, "It is extremely important that students and parents understand that there is absolutely no validity to this story."
The lawsuit is still pending.
Chris came to KYW from sister station WBZ-TV CBS 4 in Boston, where he had been co-anchor of WBZ-TV News at 5:00 p.m. and TV 38 News at 9:30 p.m. alongside current FOX 25 anchor Sara Underwood.
Prior to that, Chris was an anchor at WHDH-TV NBC 7 in Boston, where he anchored the early evening newscasts at 4pm, 4:30pm & 5pm alongside Frances Rivera. He also reported for the late evening newscasts.
Chris came to Boston from KATV-TV ABC 7 in Little Rock, AR where he had been a primary anchor.
A native of Little Rock, Chris is a 1993 graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunications in Tempe where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism.
In addtion to Chris, KYW has also parted ways with 10pm & 11pm meteorologist Kathy Orr, and sports director Beasley Reece.
Reece, a former NFL player, has been with CBS 3 since 1998. He started in TV sports at WTOG-TV in St. Petersburg, FL as a sports reporter and anchor. After 3 years, he joined WVIT-TV NBC 3- (NBC Connecticut) in Hartford. He spent almost 10 years at NBC Connecticut before returing to WTOG in 1997, and then joining KYW in 1998.
Orr has also been at KYW since 2003 when she joined as chief meteorologist. She was the first female meteorologist in the Philadelphia market when she joined WCAU-TV in 1998.
A station source told Philly.com that due to sagging ratings, the new general manager of the station has "been on a mission to turn things around, and people are being let go left and right."
