Ben Hoover leaves WOLO for opportunity with local company

Ben Hoover said in an email on Saturday that he is leaving television altogether.

“I was presented an opportunity with a well-established local company here in Columbia,” Hoover said.

While providing no details about his new job, Hoover said no one is more thrilled than his wife and children who will have dad at home in the evenings again.

When he announced in 2014 on social media that his contract was not renewed by WIS TV, his fans were despondent and picketed the downtown Columbia station for weeks in protest. They rejoiced after it was announced that he would be joining the news team at WOLO television in August 2015.

Hoover’s departure from WOLO was made with no announcement or fanfare. Fans started noticing his absence from on-air and from the station’s website.

Soon after Hoover joined WOLO, he took on a radio gig, offering a weekly video column on Keven Cohen’s show on The Point! (WQXL, 95.9 FM and 1470 AM).

While off the air until his “no compete” clause with WIS expired, Hoover started the consulting firm, Ben Hoover Media. He also launched a GoFundMe page to produce a book, Palmetto Strong: The Book after the October 2015 floods that devastated the Midlands.

This story was originally published April 28, 2017 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Ben Hoover leaves WOLO for opportunity with local company."