The best local news anchor in America is retiring

Published Jan. 17, 2008 at A Capitol Idea (or Two):

Outside of the San Francisco Bay Area, we doubt many people have heard of Dennis Richmond. But he's a Bay Area legend, and as the headline says, in our opinion, anyway, the best local news anchor in the country.
Richmond announced Wednesday he will retire in May. The Bay Area is losing a magnificent journalist who was, we repeat, the best local news anchor in the country.
Why are we trumpeting so much over a local news anchor?
It's simple. In an age where news shows are dominated by shallow personalities engaged in happy talk and cute comments, Richmond, in his 30 years as news anchor of KTVU's "The 10 O'Clock News," has delivered the who, what, when, where and why without hoopla or gimmicks. His straightforward, unbiased manner is the news the way it should be, but isn't.
In a story on KTVU's website, the station's Vice President and General Manager Tom McVay said, "As a working journalist, Dennis is the pinnacle of objectivity and fairness. When you watch him anchor, you know you're getting the real news. He has never let his feelings or opinions drift into the stories he delivers. Dennis and his style of delivery has defined KTVU for decades."
Exactly. In an age defined by news anchors who claim to be unbiased but aren't, Richmond was the real deal. Richmond delivered the news without embellishments and gave viewers the facts. Just the facts and nothing more.
It's unbelievable that there aren't more like him. Actually, it's kind of sad. There is an undercurrent of distrust of the media today, but there was nothing like that with Richmond. Delivering the news to him means telling it like it is. Period.
Those of us in the journalism profession looked up to Richmond. As a longtime viewer of Bay Area TV news, we've seen it all. The personable types, the down-to-earth anchors and the crusaders. Richmond is better than all of them.
Thanks, Dennis. We'll sadly countdown the days until your final broadcast May 21.
We feel sorry for whoever at KTVU has to pick your successor. That'll be one hell of a tough job.

Me and Dick Cavett

Posted on A Capital Idea (or Two) on Dec. 29, 2007.

I was surprised to accidentally discover tonight that Dick Cavett regularly blogs for the New York Times.
Now Dick Cavett and I go way back.
Not that we ever met or encountered each other, you understand. (Yeah, I know. You saw the title and thought, "Here's some neat little gossip." Well, sorry to disappoint you.)
I was a regular viewer of Cavett's late-night show on ABC. So I guess you could say we did meet, in a way. Late-night host Cavett was witty, charming and hip, all in one neat little box.
The great thing about "The Dick Cavett Show" was the guests. In a day when Johnny Carson was still the King of Late Night," Cavett had some incredibile guests.
On one show, he had John Lennon and Yoko Ono by themselves. On another, he hosted a bunch of rock musicians who'd just come from the Woodstock Music Festival. On another, he interviewed Bette Davis in an empty studio.
It was this repartee and knack for intimacy with his guests that made him beat Carson in substance where he couldn't beat him in ratings.
(Many of the great moments of "The Dick Cavett Show" have been released on a series of wonderful DVDs from Shout Factory. We recommend them highly.)
Cavett's writing today is much like his show was then. He's still low-key and very modest, though he loves to make remarks at his expense.
In his current column, he wanders into the subject of coming back to TV.

"A goodly number of you out there have written varied versions of “Why don’t you come back on TV?” I’m not sure. It does help if you’re asked."

It does, Dick. Hell, if we had the power and the resources, we'd ask. We hope there's someone smart enough who will.
So thanks for your great show.
And we highly recommend his column. We're glad the New York Times was smart enough to give him the blog.
Maybe some bright network guy will look away from the reality show blitz that is flooding TV these days and give Dick another shot.
He deserves it. As do we.