In April, the window opened, and I leaped through it.
Chris Duerr and I have been friends since we were both hairy. A few years after I left, he joined KHQA-TV, but I had seen him at work and heard about him from my friends at KOMU-TV in Columbia, which is the station where broadcast students at the University of Missouri’s esteemed School of Journalism train. We are both graduates of that school.
They all agreed that he is the real deal.
We kept running into each other because I was still fumbling with local sports coverage on the radio and writing for The Herald-Whig on the side. Around the same time, we both had our first children, who later became classmates at Quincy High School.
However, I assumed that this California transplant with an unhealthy fixation on the NBA’s Sacramento Kings would soon leave for better opportunities, possibly even ESPN, when our children were young and he was beginning to establish himself as the best local television talent, whether it be news or sports.
However, I was completely mistaken.
Chris developed a deep affection for the place. He had many of chances to cover major college or professional sports and possibly make the next big market step, but he chose not to.
He decided to share the tales of your children and grandchildren. He gave them student-athlete awards and discussed their on-field accomplishments. He developed a football game for all-stars. He discussed the benefits of local sports for families and communities with hundreds of groups.
When Chris’s contract at KHQA was last up, we had a talk. Working for a corporate media firm has negotiating windows in contracts, and Chris was excellent at keeping his end of the bargain. He’s the type of man that does that.
So, we were close a few years ago. However, he wanted to offer the business he had supported for 28 years another chance to receive the same dedication he had shown them over the years.
But something was different this time. KHQA was spun off to a new business, a startup that was acquiring a few small-market TV stations, in March by their parent company, Sinclair. In the process, Sinclair said something that was featured in the Muddy River News report about the station’s sale:
According to one trade journal, rbr.com, According to rumors, Sinclair Inc. was thinking about selling broadcast television stations it didn’t think were necessary to the business in order to raise money for the deployment of ATSC 3.0 in the United States and a few other nations.
not necessary.
Now, when Chris joined the company in 1995, Sinclair did not own KHQA. Chris has had more general managers and news directors than he has had devastating Kings moments, and they have had more ownership groups than I can recall (though that may be an exaggeration).
However, your owner just stated that the station to which you have dedicated your life for thirty years was not necessary.
The most recent contract window opened on April 1st, and that was in March. I didn’t have to convince my business partners, Mike Kinscherff and Jim Rapp, that we needed to make this investment. We wish to make investments in both our people and our goods. those who choose to attend.
And I have no doubt that the Muddy River Region will rise to the occasion and keep up its amazing support of MRN.
On April 7, Chris and I met for the first time. We didn’t discuss much. When we came to terms, we gave each other a brotherly embrace. He would start on August 4 and his final day at KHQA would be July 31. We would make the announcement on August 1. Have a great three-day weekend, friend.
But since it’s Christmas Eve for Shane Hulsey, Matt Schuckman, and himself, he’s jumping right in. Football is the greatest game of the fall, and high school sports preparations are coming to an end.
Chris stated, “Muddy River’s explosive rise has been nothing short of 1.2 gigawatt journalistic defibrillator in trying to bring the victim (all of us) out of its flatline, with Corporate Media in atrophy, perhaps even decay at the small market level.” Why not join our Super Team if you love this city, appreciate this industry, and appreciate the unrivaled local sports culture in the Tri-State? I came here because I was sick of only admiring what Bob Gough and his group had done. I desired to play the game.
If all goes according to plan, Muddy River Sports may become the music industry’s Nevermind for local coverage. It was the zeitgeist moment when everything shifted and all the cliches perished. Let’s get out of the chains and start cooking.
He seems content to be here, in my opinion.
According to Matt Schuckman, Muddy River Sports’ dedication to providing the public with ethical service is the cause for its success. Chris and I were brought together by Muddy River News Publisher Bob Gough, who saw our enthusiasm for our work and wanted to highlight the unique qualities of this region and these communities.
I believe Matt is content to be here.
They also receive extra credit for kissing their asses.
