Steve Darling and Randene Neill have left Global BC and Sonia Sunger is joining the network’s morning show.
Global’s early news broadcast became the news itself recently when it laid off Darling, a popular anchor. The move caused an outcry among viewers, with many vowing to switch to rival networks. A Facebook group called Steve Darling Deserved Better Treatment Global BC quickly grew to more than 25,000 members.
Shortly after Darling was laid off, fellow host Randene Neill announced she was leaving Global as well. In an emotional broadcast, Neill said she’d been “given the opportunity for another job” and added “I’m going to cry a lot in the next little while.”
Related
The station indicated that Neill’s announcement was unrelated to Darling’s departure.
“Randene is leaving the journalism industry altogether to pursue a new opportunity at a different organization,” Global BC posted on its Facebook page, although no details about her new job have been officially revealed yet.
Global dedicated much of Neill’s final broadcast to her, as Global personality Squire Barnes joined Neill to look back at some of their lighthearted moments together over the years.
One of the most memorable segments in Neill’s history with Global was a viral video of a pit bull puppy that wouldn’t stop licking her face, causing her to break down in laughter.
The puppy, Ginger, is now fully grown and also stopped by the set to send off Randene. Yes, there was more enthusiastic — and perhaps bittersweet — face licking. “Ginger, you and me forever,” Neill said, before adding “Your breath is much worse.”
Global announced B.C. native Sonia Sunger will be joining the show. In a tweet, the BC1 anchor said she will host the morning show on Halloween Monday.
Members of the Steve Darling Deserved Better Facebook group praised the sendoff for Neill, but criticized Global for not doing something similar for Darling. “It would have been really nice if Steve Darling got the opportunity to have the same farewell,” said one user, while another added, “It made me more outraged why they didn’t do this for Steve.”
Global BC’s staff restructuring comes months after Corus Entertainment completed a $2.65-billion purchase of the Global Television Network, along with 19 specialty channels including the Food Network, from Shaw Media.
– With a file from Scott Brown
