Kevin Benson
Kevin Benson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959 (age 64–65)[1] |
| Alma mater | Gannon University |
| Occupation | Television meteorologist |
Kevin Benson is an American meteorologist. He is best known for his tenure with WPXI in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the National Weather Association and the American Meteorological Society, which has given him the AMS seal of approval.[2]
Benson was born in Brockway, Pennsylvania and graduated from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.[3]
He held early radio jobs in Erie and DuBois, Pennsylvania, subsequently becoming a weather forecaster on Erie's WJET-TV.[3] He then became a weekend-afternoon DJ at Pittsburgh's WTAE-AM. He joined WPXI, Pittsburgh's NBC affiliate, in September 1987 as part-time weatherman. In June 1990, he became a WPXI co-anchor on the Pittsburgh television market's first Saturday morning news program. The experiment was a success and the format was expanded to include Sunday mornings.[1]
While working part-time at WPXI, Benson pursued a second career in beer sales. During the early 1980s, he worked for Stroh Brewery Company's Erie offices; he was a brand manager for Iron City Beer from 1984 to 1987; and from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, he helped rescue a struggling Anheuser-Busch wholesale distributor in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.[1] These jobs took him throughout every small town in Western Pennsylvania, allowing him to become intimately familiar with the geography of the region, a skill that aided him as a weatherman.[1]
Benson was described to have had his TV career's "defining moment" during the Blizzard of 1993, in which he and a co-anchor were on the air for most of an entire weekend.[1] Co-workers were unable to get to the station to relieve them because of the snow-covered roads. Benson said the incident "really put me on the map".
In 1998, WPXI hired Benson full-time.[4]
He graduated in 2003 from the meteorology training program at Mississippi State University, receiving a certificate in broadcast meteorology.
A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter criticized a 2006 WPXI gasoline giveaway presented by Benson because it allowed "commercialism to invade the bounds of the newscast".[5]
After reporting the weather on weekends for almost all of his years at WPXI, the station moved Benson to weekday mornings in April 2012.[6] Benson returned to weekends in December 2013.
Benson was charged with DUI as a result of a traffic stop by a PA State trooper in October, 2019. The stop occurred on Interstate 70, south of Pittsburgh, as a result of a call to 911 of an erratic driver on the highway. Benson's Blood Alcohol was reported to be 0.311, almost 4 times Pennsylvania's legal limit of 0.08. Traces of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, was also found in his system.[7]
Scott Trabandt, WPXI News director, confirmed on 11/19/19 that Benson was no longer with the station. Trabandt declined to elaborate on the circumstances. When reached by phone by the Tribune-Review, Benson declined to comment. There have been no reports as to whether Mr. Benson was dismissed by the station, or if he resigned.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e Rutkoski, Rex (August 24, 2012). "Weatherman Kevin Benson to mark 25 years at WPXI-TV". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
- ^ "Kevin Benson". Biography. WPXI. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
- ^ a b "Kevin Benson: WPXI, weekend morning co-anchor, weekend evening weathercaster". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 9, 2003. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ Vancheri, Barbara (Apr 18, 1998). "Della Crews rejects job switch, leaves WPXI". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ Owen, Rob (May 12, 2006). "WPXI contests again". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ Sciullo, =Maria (2012-04-25). "TV/Radio Notes: Mike LaPoint, Kevin Benson switch at WPXI; Burton leaving The Fan for TV". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Bradbury, Shelly (November 6, 2019). "WPXI weatherman Kevin Benson charged with DUI". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ Lee, Madasyn (November 19, 2019). "Meteorologist Kevin Benson no longer with WPXI". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.