The local Illinois WICS press station renamed its weather report "Code Red" after its own meteorologist criticized it

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WICS meteorologist Joe Crain said, live last week, that the station's "Code Red" warnings signaled "the fact that not all storms are equal".

His criticism came after viewers complained that repeated "red code" warnings in severe weather had caused unnecessary panic and that they were aging.
A meteorologist slammed the constant red code of his station into the station. warnings. It can cost him his job.

"We want you to know that it's not us," said Crain in a June 5 monologue that quickly became viral. "It's a business initiative, the" Red Code "alert, and behind the scenes, many of us have tried to deter it in the last few months, to try something else that is less controversial by the viewers. "

WICS, a subsidiary of CNN, announced Monday that it would change its early warning alert to "Weather Warn". Many stations owned by Sinclair, the parent company of WICS, must use the "Weather Warn" brand.

"We live, work and have families and friends in this community.Safety is for us a deep concern.We strongly believe in the need to give early warning and will continue to provide this potentially vital information, that the words Code Red may not be suitable anymore, "said WICS in a statement.

"As such, we are changing the name of our Early Warning Alert to" Weather Warn. "In addition, we will continue to work to further define the most troubling geographic areas."

WICS said the decision to issue alerts "red code" had been "taken at the local level".

The employment status of Weatherman is still unclear

WICS has removed Crain's profile page from its website after the broadcast.

Crain, who has been working there since 2004, declined to comment on CNN's employment status.

Crain has received a wave of support and many companies have withdrawn their advertising with WICS because of the controversy.

Sutton's, a local home improvement company that sponsored the seven-day weather forecast on WICS, even offered Crain a job if he needed a new one.

The station did not comment on Crain 's employment status in his latest statement.

CNN's Eric Levenson contributed to this report.

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