Dumped inaugural parade announcer gets new job: report

The inaugural parade announcer who was recently replaced after 60 years on the job has landed a new role, according to a new report.
Charlie Brotman, 89, will comment on the Jan. 20 event as part of NBC4’s team in Washington, D.C., The Washington Post said Thursday.
“I was down, I was disappointed, and I thought I would be doing it for the next 100 years,” he said of getting replaced last week. “Now I’m not thinking about the old news. I’m only thinking about good news.
{mosads}“Now, I’m all young and excited again. It’s a new day. Instead of talking to a few thousand people I’m talking to a few million people.”
NBC4, which is NBC’s affiliate in the D.C. region, said Brotman would draw on his deep knowledge of past inaugurations during next week’s event.
“Given Charlie Brotman’s long history in Washington and unparalleled experience with inaugural parades celebrating presidents in both parties, we have invited him to be part of our inauguration coverage on Jan. 20,” a station spokesperson said in an email. “Charlie will provide his unique insights that people in Washington have enjoyed for many decades.”
President-elect Donald Trump’s team decided last week it would not use Brotman’s services, breaking a tradition that began with former President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957.
The president-elect’s staff instead opted for Steve Ray, a 58-year-old freelance radio announcer.
Brotman on Monday said finding out he had been replaced for the 12th inaugural parade was “really terrible.”
“I was disappointed because I thought I would be the announcer, and then when I read the email, I thought I was going to commit suicide,” he told CNN.
“I looked at my email, then I got the shock of my life. I felt like [former boxer] Muhammad Ali had hit me in the stomach.”
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