Don't be surprised to see Brandon Saho at Bengals tailgates, or watching Reds or Bearcats games this fall — without a camera or microphone.
Saho, who took a mental health break from WLWT-TV in late March, is leaving his WLWT-TV weekend sports anchor job today to enjoy life as a "normal" person. He called quitting Channel 5 "the hardest decision of my career" in a social media post.
"My mental health is in a really good place. I just felt like it was best for me to move onto the next chapter," the 2015 University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Electronic Media program graduate tells me. "I'd like to be creative in the future, but for now, I'm looking forward to being a 'normal' person while enjoying nights and weekends off for the first time in my career."
The LaSalle High School alum says he's staying here in his hometown, but leaving the news business. He's the third WLWT-TV newsroom staffer to leave the station — and their television careers — in three weeks, following traffic reporter Alanna Martella and weekend co-anchor Mollie Lair. Branden Frantz, WLWT-TV president and general manager, calls their departures "100 percent coincidence."
"I’m not ready to announce what my next chapter is just yet, but I am going to be staying in Cincinnati to spend time with my family and friends," Saho says.
"I’m definitely going to be cheering on the Bengals and Bearcats this fall as a fan for football games. I’m looking forward to being able to tailgate and enjoy games like I haven’t since I’ve been a sports reporter."
Saho worked at WXIX-TV as an assignment editor and sports photographer for nine months as he was graduating from UC in 2015. Then he spent nine months at WTVM-TV in Columbus, Ga., as a weekend morning anchor/producer/editor and a weekday morning reporter, and worked two years as a sports reporter at WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge (2016-18) before coming home to Cincinnati in June 2018.
When taking his mental health leave in March, Saho "These last 3 months have been the hardest. But I finally want to make a big change and be happy with myself. I'm ready to beat this thing. And I will!" he wrote on Twitter in April.
Saho announced his WLWT-TV departure on Twitter by saying: "This is the hardest decision of my career. I love you Cincinnati. For the last 4 years, I lived my dream as a sports reporter in my hometown. Thank you to the teams, coaches, players, and fans that made my job the best. I’ll be leaving WLWT soon. But stay tuned."
