Rich Apuzzo on Channel 5 (Promos)

Rich Apuzzo's cameo on a Channel 5's new weather promotion doesn't mean we'll soon see him doing forecasts for the station.

"We have no plans for Rich to do weather for us. This is just a one-time deal," says Brennan Donnellan, WLWT-TV news director.

Apuzzo, fired by WXIX-TV (Channel 19) last October, appears in a yellow T-shirt reading "Bring Back Rich Apuzzo" in a spot for Channel 5 chief meteorologist Derek Beasley taped last month in Ault Park. He delivers the tag line, "Hey, Cincinnati, Derek said it would be like this."

It's a clever way to break through the clutter, to get people talking about the Beasley promotion. (Three spots have been produced from one shoot – 30, 10 and five seconds, Apuzzo says.) "They wanted kind of a fun image to the thing," Apuzzo says.

But it's more than just that to Channel 5.

"We recognize that Rich Apuzzo still has a solid reputation as a meteorologist in this market. For him to give his de facto endorsement, by being in a promo, was important, that someone with his credibility respects Derek Beasley," Donnellan says.

Apuzzo has heard quite a buzz about the spots since they debuted last Thursday. "Everybody seems to enjoy it. I love broadcasting, and being in the public eye," he says.

For now, he does daily forecasts from his Mount Washington home studio on his website,
http://www.skyeyeweather.com/ He also does forecasts for other websites and weather consulting, while staying in touch with managers at Channels 5, 9 and 12. He has done some fill-in work at Dayton's Channels 22 and 45, for Pat Casey, his former Fox 19 boss.

"If something comes up here, I'm totally available," he says. "I’ve been looking nationally (for a TV job). We love it here, but I've got to pay the bills."