Lafayette viewers outraged as anchors' farewell is cut short.

Lafayette, LA (KATC News) - Jim Hummel and Marcelle Fontenot bid farewell from the KATC news desk at the end of Friday's 6 pm newscast. Lafayette viewers were outraged as their goodbye message was cut short by a commercial break.

The two wrapped up ten years at the desk together with a heartfelt message for their viewers. Thankfully, one of their fellow reporters caught the entire message on video, and KATC aired it on the 10 PM news.

As upsetting as it was to watchers, the clip likely occurred because of an error in timing or miscommunicated cues.

Marcelle and Jim gave a nod to the crew that works behind the scenes, and I assure you there are many folks who play a part in a live show. You, as a viewer, see the anchors, reporters, and meteorologists. What you don't see are all the people in the control room, the floor crew, the editors and producers, and the news leadership team. Marcelle and Jim understand that they, as with all on-air folks, are members of the team that work together to ensure viewers have the best experience.

And sometimes they make mistakes.

Live television shows, whether local or national, are timed to the second, literally. If a show runs long, the next is interrupted or delayed. Neither of those scenarios should happen because none of them exist in a vacuum, and the delay causes issues for more than just that next show. If a delay is expected, it's planned for, as is the case with nationally televised live sporting events.

I can imagine that emotions were running higher in the KATC studio than they were for the viewers. Their team works together daily, they learn each other's mannerisms, they know each other's families, and they've developed bonds. It's TOUGH to experience a departure, most especially for the people that work closest with you.

Based on the photos and posts on their Facebook pages, Jim and Marcelle left with smiles and gratitude for their fans.

And as Meagan Glover posted,