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KTVT's Tracy Rowlett to retire

J

JayDavis

Said in the Dallas Morning News that he was going to retire I believe in July of next year. Morning Anchor Doug Dunbar will begin to replace him on the 10pm newscast, similar to Pete Delkas replacing Troy on Channel 8 before they both take on the full-time responsibilities.

The article also said he still might work part-time, do some documentaries for the station and other projects as well.

Think of the line-up that Channel 8, I believe, brought down from OKC when Channel 8 started to really ramp up their reporting. Tracy Rowlett, Byron Harris, Robert Riggs...........I know I'm missing a few.........yet I didn't live here at the time they were all hired. I think they were known as the OKC Mafia. :)
 
JayDavis said:
Think of the line-up that Channel 8, I believe, brought down from OKC when Channel 8 started to really ramp up their reporting.
Click to expand...

That was in 1974. Prior to that time WFAA had been a distant also-ran in the market. Before the mid 70's, viewers in Dallas got their news from Channel 4, those in Fort Worth tuned to Channel 5, regardless of what the lead-in programming was. Of course, there was much more distinction between the two cities then, before everything turned into a continuous urban sprawl.

Probably a good time for Rowlett to retire. When you reportedly spend much of your time railing against the state of TV today and being a cranky PITA in general, its time to hang it up. He certainly doesn't need the money.
 
Oh there's more to this story than they're telling. Channel 11 just hired a "blood and guts" news director from Kansas City. "If it bleeds it leads" is not qutie strong enough for this guy. I suspect Rowlett will have his head explode after a couple of run ins with the new man in charge.

Channel 11 is about to undergo a huge makeover in its news product. Rowlett won't be the last to leave. Riggs and many others will soon follow him out the door as quality journalism is replaced with whatever the news director thinks will win ratings. (primarily car accidents, fires and the latest shooting)
 
Oh Boy You mean "Inside Edition" is expanding? To think I had hopes for Channel 11 actually doing some journalism. Ch.4,and 5 dumped that concept awhile back. Ch.8 is getting more tabloid by the day. Journalism is quickly becoming something you can only find in the dictionary.
 
All of you need to read Ed Bark's new webiste...........he totally trashes pretty much all the newscast
in the DFW market from time to time.

As an above poster said, why does it have to be, "If it bleeds, it leads" ?? More and more, newcast are
becoming shows such as ET or Inside Edition. And why in the world does Fox 4 News think a bit during
each newcast on American Idol, is really a "news" story ???

If I want to watch a show on the entertainment industry, I'll watch ET, or Inside Edition, etc.....
Give me news during my newscast. And poor Mike Doocy, he only gets about 3 minutes during the 9pm
newscast. Why can't he have a longer segment on that broadcast???
 
JayDavis said:
And why in the world does Fox 4 News think a bit during
each newcast on American Idol, is really a "news" story ???

And poor Mike Doocy, he only gets about 3 minutes during the 9pm
newscast. Why can't he have a longer segment on that broadcast???
Click to expand...

On the American Idol stuff, Fox 4 is playing off their lead-in audience. If you have a super lead-in like "Idol", it is wise to do something in your newscast that plays off those viewers, and before anyone says it is mostly kids, it is not. The numbers break down on Idol, hits those 18-49 demos as well as any program. So, Fox 4 is just trying to keep their lead-in audience. On nights where "House" is their lead-in, you might see a few more medical stories. That's why they do that.

And, when sports dictates more time, they normally get it. I was in Northeast Texas the night the Cowboys hired Wade Phillips (as a Steelers fan, I applaud that hire, but that's a TIO post for another time ;)). Doocy not only got extra time, he had a few other hits in the show and he was on GDD the next morning. I work at a TV station in Houston, and our Sports Director is one of the best in the country at getting big scoops. He's the king in that news department. I asked him awhile back why he doesn't get more time, because he normally gets 3-4 minutes a night, too. He said when it dictates, as in a lot of stories involving area sports, he gets the time he needs. However, he's not going to bore anyone by having a bunch of packages or SOTVO's for every story. I'm sure it works the same way at KDFW.

As far as Tracy Rowlett goes, he brought credibility to that news department. I really thought it was a mistake on both sides, when he left WFAA. Turned out it was just Belo's loss. And, I see the Belo boys at the Dallas Morning News (speaking of Belo properties that are a shadow of their former self), wasted no time in printing this story. I wonder if Kathy Clements will get an invite to his retirement party?!

Also, given Pete Delkus's "lack of gelling" with the DFW audience, I wonder if he'll be around when Troy actually does exit WFAA for the last time?
 
Pete will stay,after all "morticia Alexis" is still there. Kathy Hill has really gutted that station. Once Gloria,John and Dale are gone,Ch.33 will beat them. I wonder how long Steve plans on staying there? Alexis is so drab in presentation,Pete is too busy slapping his left hand with his right while emphasising non-essentials of a forecast, John merely stares into the camera like Johnny Carson did when jokes misfired. Like KVIL in radio,WFAA-TV has lost its legacy,and its direction.
 
Well I think Mike Doocy could cover a few more sports stories on the 9pm broadcast. Do more local reports, possibly featuring high school sports. Just give him more time and let him be able to do something different. I understand that Dallas is a huge professional sports market, but add some local college sports stories to the mix and the high school stories as well. The 9pm newcast would be a perfect fit for that.

WFAA has totally lost their glamour. They used to be THE one everybody wanted to work for and looked up to. It is a joke, now.

I also understand your commentts about Fox 4 leading into the broadcast due to American Idol or when the show House is on, but only just a few years ago, you would not have seen that, at all. A newcast is a newcast, that is it............as I said, if I want entertainment news, I've got ET and EXTRA and so many similar choices...........
 
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