ADELE ARAKAWA ANNOUNCES 9NEWS RETIREMENT
Sometimes even the “news leader” gets scooped.
After a TV industry gossip site published a rumor that TEGNA had offered a “buyout” of its highsalaried KUSA anchor, Adele Arakawa, pushing the anchor “out the door,” Arakawa went public with her planned announcement Tuesday: “I was made aware of (the post on FTVLive.com) this morning. I couldn’t believe it. I had met with (KUSA) management last week to discuss when we were going to announce my retirement. “My last day is June 30, 2017.” That will mark 24 years for the respected anchor — on top of the ratings and as a favorite local personality.
The station planned to make the announcement during Tuesday’s late-news broadcasts.
Arakawa, 59, a was encouraged to stay by 9News/TEGNA boss Patti Dennis and was offered enticements to extend her contract. But it wasn’t about money, Arakawa said.
“Frankly, I never made a secret of the fact that I’m not going to work beyond a certain age. I’m surprised I’ve lasted as long as I have,” she said.
She thinks the timing is right: The day after her planned retirement, she and her husband, Barry Tiller, will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. Two weeks later, Arakawa will turn 60.
Arakawa expressed dismay at the way her retirement was leaked to and erroneously reported by a gossip site, leading her to lament the current state of news and “fake news.”
“It angers me, it’s this whole specter of fake news. The industry has morphed into something quite different. We used to be a respected industry. Now people are left trying to distinguish what’s true, what’s false.”
Should Denver TV viewers expect a protracted sendoff for her next summer?
“I would like to have a minute to thank everybody and, at 10:35 p.m., walk out the door,’’ she said. “I just want to fade off into the sunset.”