John says good bye to WSLS, but not Roanoke

(Deep Breath)  Well…  It’s true.

After 21 years I’ll be moving to another pasture.  From here it looks like a greener pasture – but then the grass always seems greener on the other side doesn’t it?

I grew up on a farm and watched horses lean through barbed wire to eat grass in the field on the other side of the fence, while they stood on perfectly good grass on their own side.

I may be doing the same thing.  The grass here at WSLS has stood me in good stead for a long time.  It’s certainly still green.

When I arrived here in 1987 Mary was pregnant with our first child, Jonathan.  He’s now a junior at Virginia Tech (majoring in communication and anchoring on VTTV!).  I’m always amazed when people come up to me and say they remember the clip we showed the night he was born.

Through the birth of two more boys, Ben and Ty, WSLS has been the mainstay of the family’s existence.  There have been times when it felt like maybe the grass was getting a little thin – but the pasture has always provided.

But, there comes a time when you begin to wonder what life might be like outside the bounds of said fence.  A fence after all is designed to contain.  And frankly for some time now, I’ve felt a bit of wanderlust.

Wanderlust and fences don’t mesh well, but when I say “a bit” I mean it.  “Wander” in this context means not leaving Roanoke and the surrounding region.  This has become home.  That’s a good thing – but let’s face it, there aren’t many anchor jobs in the city, and I already have the best one.

So what does that leave?  Until earlier this year, not much.

So as I considered whether I wanted to do the same thing for the rest of my life – even if it was a good thing—I was approached by some people I admire.  People with verve, talent and upward momentum. 

Tony Pearman and Todd Marcum have built Access Advertising, Design +PR into the most dynamic agency of its kind in our half of Virginia and beyond.  They do outstanding, creative work. And they have a trophy case full of Addys to prove it.  The agency was even named best place to work in the Roanoke Valley last year.

Several months ago, Todd asked me to meet him for a cup of coffee.  He told me that Terri Jones who was named the PR Executive of the year in the entire country in 2007, would be retiring soon.  He wanted to know if I would I be interested in joining the company to work with Terri for a while and take over her responsibilities upon her retirement.

I looked around my pasture and it was green enough.  But that fence had been feeling more and more confining.

I had a chance to join a PR firm in Richmond years ago.  Though I’ve been pleased with my career in television news, I always wondered…

There were too many considerations to detail here, but obviously if you’re reading this you know I decided to accept the offer from Access.

We made the announcement today, so the word is out.  Please believe me, I don’t take the privilege of coming into your home every night lightly.  This decision was tough.  And saying good-bye will be tougher.

I have had the honor to work with some of the most talented people in television news in the entire country, and we have a Peabody Award and three national Edward R. Murrow awards to prove it. 

So often over the years, when a member of the WSLS family has moved on, viewers complained that they didn’t have any notice.  Neither I nor WSLS wanted to do that this time.

I’ll be here through November, and we’ll do some reminiscing between now and then.

This pasture has a gate, and I’m headed for it but not without a proper good-bye.

To Learn more about John’s next stop, click here.

To see a photo of John with Dick and Dave and read about his interview on Q-99, click here.