A pair of beloved local anchors with extraordinary runs at their stations are finally stepping down. Tom Wills signs off at WJXT Jacksonville May 31, 49 years after he began there, while Don Alhart marks a stunning 58 years at WHAM Rochester when he steps down June 6. 

“I don’t want to keep working until they have to wheel me in there,” said Alhart, who is 80. “When I feel good, when the ratings are still good, why push it?”

Raised on Radio

A Pittsburgh native, Wills got a journalism degree at American University in Washington and went to work at WTOP, the D.C. radio station offering news and talk that at that time was owned by The Washington Post Co. The Post Co. also owned a TV station in D.C., and Wills got a little on-air experience. He was asked to switch to another Post Co. station, WJXT, and came on board as a weekend anchor in 1975. 

“My wife and I fell in love with Jacksonville, but I really fell in love with the television station,” Wills said. 

In D.C., he said, The Washington Post owned the big stories and other media outlets were mostly “irrelevant.” In Jacksonville, WJXT (part of Graham Media Group, renamed when the Graham family sold the Post to Jeff Bezos) broke more than its share of the big scoops. “It’s a heady feeling that this television station is so dominant in the community,” he said. 

Wills said he had a “brief flirtation” with a move to WPLG Miami, also owned by The Post Co. Stations in other markets, including Kansas City and Baltimore, also reached out to gauge his interest in a move. 

“I’d already worked in Washington, D.C., so I knew about big markets,” he said. “Big markets did not hold any allure to me.”

Wills’s children were born in Jacksonville, and he was part of a long-running anchor team, including Deborah Gianoulis, at WJXT from 1979 to 2003, with Sam Kouvaris doing sports (he spent 37 years there) and George Winterling handling weather (Winterling, who died last year, was WJXT chief meteorologist for 47 years). Wills said the team’s extraordinary tenure made him “one of the most spoiled men in America, maybe the Western Hemisphere.”

On Campus, Then On-Air

Alhart worked as a reporter for WHAM as an Ithaca College student in the summer of 1965, joining the station full-time a year later — 6/6/66, in fact. “I graduated college June 4, came home Sunday and went to work Monday,” he said. “I never looked back.”

Like Wills, and most any anchor, Alhart considered opportunities in larger markets, including Washington and Philadelphia. After a hiring manager in Philly viewed his tape, he was told the station was looking for an anchor “who exudes more warmth,” he said, perhaps a reflection of Alhart’s heart still being in Rochester. 

He’s particularly proud of the long-running segment “Bright Spot” at the end of the 6 p.m. news, which focuses on someone who’s doing something positive in the community. Alhart said the idea came up at a Rotary Club meeting, when a man complained that the news was too depressing.

“Bright Spot” was born. “Every day, even 9/11, we have found a bright spot,” Alhart said. 

Asked about stories he covered that stick out today, Wills, who did not share his age, mentioned covering the 1977 plane crash in Mississippi that killed members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. “We went into the woods and found the wreckage,” he said, describing “broken suitcases, a teddy bear on the ground.”

Words of Wisdom 

In terms of advice for a young reporter, Wills advised to learn how local government operates, and remember to have a conversation with the viewer, as opposed to reading something “lifted out of Associated Press.” 

Alhart too stressed speaking with people, not at them. “Go to the shopping mall,” he said. “Sit in a chair for 15 or 20 minutes, look at people, and remember those are the people you’re talking to when you write a  story, deliver a story, anchor a newscast.”

Wills said his retirement plans are “up in the air,” and mentioned his three grandchildren “will get a lot more Grandma and Grandpa.”

Alhart will consider a new venture, perhaps a podcast, that allows him to continue focusing on positive stories in Rochester. 

“I’ll take a month or two, maybe travel, but I won’t plan anything,” he said. “And see what happens.”

Netflix debuts the music documentary WHAM! July 5. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were in ’80s pop band Wham! Chris Smith directs the film. 

The band formed in 1981 and got a record deal a year later. Wham! released its debut album “Fantastic” in 1983. The duo broke up in 1986 following a farewell concert at Wembley Stadium in London. 

“Now for the very first time, told in their own words, the amazing story of how in four years they dominated the charts around the world with timeless and classic pop songs,” according to Netflix. 

Wham hits include “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go,” “Last Christmas” and “Freedom.”

George Michael died in 2016. Ridgeley moved on to auto racing and acting after Wham! broke up. 

John Battsek and Simon Halfon produce the film. Netflix promises never-before-seen footage and candid interviews with key figures. 

The film “charts their incredible journey from school friends to superstars,” said Netflix. 

WHAM Rochester, New York, anchor duo Ginny Ryan and Doug Emblidge have announced their retirements. The pair has anchored 13WHAM’s 5 p.m. news since 1990, and 10 and 11 p.m. news for two years.

Ryan and Emblidge were inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2018. She will sign off October 7 and he will retire November 29.

“Doug and Ginny are consummate professionals and great people on top of that,“ WHAM VP and general manager Chuck Samuels said. “You won’t find two better journalists who care more about their community than these two Hall of Famers. Their dedication to making 13WHAM News the best it can be is second to none. I am very happy for them as they take on new challenges and extremely grateful for the legacy they will leave here.”

Ryan will be director of community engagement at Canandaigua National Bank. Emblidge is joining investment advisory firm Alesco Advisors.

WHAM is part of Sinclair. Rochester is DMA No. 77.

Ryan got her start at WENY Elmira (New York) during college, then was hired at WHAM in 1987. She co-anchored the 11 p.m. news since 1991.

In high school and college, Emblidge worked at radio outlets WHAM and WHFM in Rochester, WDNY in Dansville, and WHEN in Syracuse. After college, he worked at WROC, then WOKR, and then WHAM. He co-anchored 13WHAM’s morning news from 2000 until 2020.

“It’s been a great run. This job has been our calling and our passion, for a combined 75 years,” the pair said in a statement. “There are so many things we will miss--the privilege of being reporters and storytellers, the buzz of the newsroom, the adrenaline rush of live television and, most of all, the people.

“We'll miss connecting each day with the viewers who have treated us so well for so long. It has been an honor. We took the job seriously. Hopefully, we served them well.” ■