His Pittsburgh story ends
Reporter David Kaplan is leaving WTAE-TV
David Kaplan’s first week at WTAE-TV was marred by an unspeakable tragedy that took place at the hometown station he had just left. The 31-year-old Shadyside resident was on his third day as a WTAE general assignment reporter after having spent three years working a similar job at WDBJ-TV in his hometown of Roanoke, Va. That was the day in August 2015 when WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward were fatally shot while conducting a live interview. Kaplan shared a desk with Parker, and he described Ward as “one of my best friends in the world.”
Taking the job at WTAE was already a big leap for Kaplan, who had left his family and the comfort of home for this new adventure in Western Pennsylvania.
“I’m dealing all of a sudden with this incredibly difficult trauma that really took a long time for me to get over,” Kaplan told the Post-Gazette. “I’m really still getting over it, to be honest. These things stick with you for forever.”
Despite that loss, Kaplan was able to regroup and slowly build a life for himself in Pittsburgh that included plenty of supportive friends and colleagues. Almost exactly six years after he began working in Pittsburgh, Kaplan announced Wednesday via social media that he will be leaving the station next week. His last day will be Tuesday.
“Coming here was a risk, and I came here, and I didn’t know if it was the best thing after all that,” he said. “I always say that for every reason I’ve had to be really dour and down about my time in Pittsburgh, I’ve made such incredible lifelong friends who really helped me get through that.”
Kaplan wasn’t ready to reveal what’s next for him professionally yet, mostly because he’s not quite sure at this point. He plans to “hang around for a little bit until the next thing kind of comes through,” he said.
The Syracuse University graduate didn’t arrive knowing no one here. Kaplan has an aunt and uncle who live in the South Hills, a college buddy in Dormont and a friendship with former WPXI-TV investigative reporter Aaron Martin, who had also worked in Roanoke.
Still, adjusting to his new situation wasn’t easy. The 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue didn’t help matters. As a Jew, Kaplan took that particularly hard.
“I kind of had these two really big traumatic things happen to me while I’m here,” he said. “Reflecting back on my time here, it’s making me appreciate the connections I’ve built, the friends I’ve made and my love of this city.”
He found “the resiliency of the city” to be inspiring and has related to how Pittsburgh “maintains this charm and character and its identity” in a similar way to Roanoke.
“Pittsburgh’s story is my story,” he said. “To be able to tell the stories of the people who live here, it’s truly been an honor.”
The tweet pinned at the top of Kaplan’s Twitter profile says all you need to know about his journalistic ethos: “Consider the source. Consider the context. If it seems too good to be true, double check it. If you disagree with it, that doesn’t make it wrong.”
That philosophy served him well while covering the 2020 election and trying to “provide context and clarity” on everything from mail-in voting issues to how election night would work logistically during a pandemic.
It also is why he has continually attempted to interview U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, about his views on the 2020 election results. Kaplan has publicly expressed his frustration about how Reschenthaler has repeatedly refused to accept his invitation.
“Party doesn’t matter, truly,” he said. “It shouldn’t matter. In my mind, accountability is what matters.... It’s not me going after him specifically. It’s been this idea that people who are elected deserve to be held accountable for their life in public service.”
In July, WTAE lost weekend morning anchor Chris Lovingood to WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C. Channel 4 also recently made news of its own for launching a 4 p.m. newscast and when WTAE reporter Jim Madalinsky married WPXI anchor and reporter Amy Hudak.
Kaplan is going to miss his WTAE colleagues who helped him get through some of the most difficult times he has ever experienced. He’s also grateful for the viewers who “make a conscientious decision to flip on our channel.”
“Putting Pittsburghers’ world in context has been such an honor for me,” he said. “I’m going to miss the people, the people I’ve worked with at WTAE and the people I interviewed, whether they were happy to see me or not. It’s not the easiest and most glamorous job sometimes, but it’s necessary, and I take such pride in it.”