Congratulations to WDIV Local 4’s Karen Drew on being named the new 4pm TV anchor. In the world of TV news, it’s been my experience that getting promoted to “the chair” is what almost everyone strives to do. Certainly there are some newspeople who were born to be reporters…different stories every day…making contacts in the neighborhood…affecting change through brave, responsible journalism. Fox 2’s Charlie LeDuff comes to mind as a born street reporter. I don’t think he’d be happy sitting at the anchor desk unless both legs were in plaster casts.

Karen Drew has earned that spot at the desk after years of hard hitting reporting as one of Local 4’s Defenders, often while hosting a studio show like Live in the D at the same time. And that’s the part of being a TV newsperson many of us don’t realize. Even the people we know and love watching at “the desk” like Ch 7’s Anu Prakash, often have to put in many hours working stories on the road…writing, editing, producing and then promoting feature stories that are often only 2-3 minutes long. It’s not as glamorous as it may seem.

  But Karen managed to do it all with style and with a very, very warm personality and lots of style. I often asked her “How do you get up at 1:30 am to be on the set at 4 or 5, and then host an hour long studio show all before lunchtime, and be a hands-on Mother?” Her answer is always the same “I Love my job.”

I truly think we’re very lucky in Metro Detroit. We have a lot of very talented Radio & TV people who often become stars we love as much as our professional athletes. And they’re all very nice people. They have a strong sense of family which I believe is why we love watching them…that core value can’t be faked and it comes through our screens. They become a part of our family…this loose but somehow connected family of people who call Detroit home. Personally my most cherished compliment was always “You guys are like my family.”

So we can ALL be glad Karen got this promotion. It’ll be good to have another warm, friendly face helping us get through the almost daily challenge of digesting the daily news. And Local 4 deserves credit for promoting someone already on staff. It’s a smart move.

And we all love it when someone’s years of hard work pays off. It’s what Detroit is all about.

Good luck to Ruth Spencer who is retiring after a long career at Local 4. Like almost everyone on Detroit local TV, Ruth put in many hours doing different projects like Ruth to the Rescue and reporting from the street as well as the desk. She’s earned a graceful retirement and is also a very nice, caring person.

-Jim