Election Night Meltdown Reported at WDAF-4 - K.C. STAR TV Writer M.I.A.

I didn't stay home to watch ANY election returns last night- as it was Ms. Rittenhouse's son's 21 birthday and he was anxious to donate his hard-earned money to the gaming corporations and their local vacuums.


From what I heard today from my various sources- I didn't miss much.

Even worse- I understand that WDAF FOX-4 had what amounted to a near-total breakdown of their election return coverage.

There were video glitches- audio glitches and from what one friend told me- almost a Phil Witt glitch- as in anchor rage over a muffed production.

Employed as I am with a Channel 4 competetor- I take absolutely no joy in that.

WDAF-4- then a long-time and proud-of-it NBC affiliate- gave me my professional shot into electronic news media in early 1991.

I was proud to work for Kansas City's first T.V. station- the only one in town older than I am.

I was a WDAF-TV4 News fan since their live coverage of the 1959 Southwest Boulevard gasoline tank fire in August of that year.

I looked up to and respected their news people such as- Walt Bodine- Bill Leeds- John Herrington- and many others.

Their first actual meteorologist- Dr. Howard Hanks- was a kind and beneficial influence on our little group of teenaged weather nerds.

Channel 4 was first in Kansas City with live news trucks- helicopters and satellites.

There's a surprising number of KSHB's behind-the-scenes news people that are also WDAF alumni.

So yeah- it's damn sad to me to see WDAF's excellence in news reporting and presentation going downhill as it is.


I've looked today to see if The STAR's T.V. writer might have written-up how the four local television news operations covered Election Night 2010 since I didn't see any of them.


Nada- nothing- nope- left to DVR and 2nd-hand accounts from friends and Internet.

___________