Farewell: Longtime news anchors signing off for good tonight

Tonight marks the end of an era in Utah television. Actually, it marks the end of two eras.

At 10 p.m., Dick Nourse anchors his last newscast at KSL-TV Ch. 5, 43 years after he anchored his first newscast at the station.

At exactly the same time, Michelle King anchors her last newscast at KUTV Ch. 2, 23 years after she became the station's lead anchorwoman, and 29 years after she began working there.

Neither is having any second thoughts as they prepare to sign off.

"Not really," said Nourse, 67. "It's more emotional now. Everything I've done in 43 years — even some things I thought I'd forgotten — are coming to my mind. It does get emotional."

"Too late for second thoughts," King said with a laugh. But she admits her finale has sort of sneaked up on her more quickly than she expected. "It was OK until I started unpacking my desk last week. It sort of didn't feel real until then.

"It's very sad. ... I've walked through these doors every weekday since I was 21 years old. And I'm 50 and a grandma and I'm still walking through the doors."

In a business where turnover is a fact of life — five years anchoring the news is a long stint in most TV markets — King and Nourse have been fixtures at the same stations for decades.

"I think a lot of people work for 30 years but not necessarily at the same place," King said. "That's what's kind of unusual about it."

While it's at least within the realm of possibility that someone might equal King's 23-year tenure, it's unthinkable that anyone will match Nourse's 43-year reign.

"With the number of newscasts that we do a day, it's almost a burnout for people," Nourse said. "So you do wonder how long anybody can withstand the pressure, the deadlines. It is tough. It's very tough. And the nights — being gone from families. I don't know how they do it."

What's even more unusual is that both Nourse and King are leaving on their own terms. Anchors are like baseball managers — they're hired to be fired. But neither of them was forced out.

"I'm glad I got to leave before I was told to," King said. "(KUTV management) said, 'Are you sure you don't want to stay?' And I said, 'Let's leave while everything is really happy and good, and we all have a good taste in our mouths and really pleasant memories.' I'm thinking it's a really good time.