Update: Ben Hoover on move to WOLO; fans react to news

As much as he might like to talk about his new position with ABC Columbia (WOLO), Hoover said he can’t discuss it any further – at least not at this point.

“I’m an employee of WOLO-TV,” Ben Hoover told The State exclusively. “More details will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead.”

The confirmation Thursday by the station’s general manager Chris Bailey that the former WIS-TV evening anchor/reporter had joined its newsroom was welcome news for Hoover’s legion of fans.

Many took to social media to spread the word that Hoover is joining WOLO. On The State newspaper’s Facebook page, the announcement of his move was big news, prompting many to say they will be tuning in to see him.

Last year, WIS-TV, the NBC affiliate, chose not to renew Hoover’s contract with the station.

His final broadcast was July 4, 2014.

“I was informed by station managers that they did not wish to renew my contract,” he wrote to his Facebook readers at the time. He had been at WIS for six years.

Because of a non-compete clause in his contract with WIS, Hoover was barred from joining any TV, radio or cable affiliate for one year after his contract was terminated.

He went on to found BHM, BenHooverMedia, focusing on “content marketing” which allowed businesses, nonprofits, etc. to “tell their own experiential stories on their own websites and social media.”

As previously reported, fans of the anchor protested for weeks. They picketed in front of the station, took their rants to social media and even mounted a “Honk 4 Hoover” campaign, laying on their car horns whenever they passed the station’s studios at the intersection of Bull and Gervais streets.

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Update: Ben Hoover on move to WOLO; fans react to news."