By Eric Stock
PEORIA – David Letterman isn’t the only television veteran calling it a career this week. A 42-year veteran in Central Illinois is calling it quits too.
Veteran newsman Tom McIntrye will anchor his last newscast on Thursday night after four-plus decades at WEEK TV 25 in Peoria.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with McIntyre on WJBC.
McIntyre told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin he never felt the temptation to leave for a larger market.
“There wasn’t a lot to attract me at this point,” McIntyre said. “If I had started earlier, yeah maybe.”
McIntyre spent several years in radio before landing in television. He said one of his favorite stories was actually his first in Peoria, covering a stream boat race – a story idea his previous bosses had rejected. His feature on the Julia Belle Swain and the Delta Queen steamboat race won an Associated Press broadcasters award.
When asked what he will do in retirement, McIntrye joked he and soon-to-be retiring wife will be cutting brush at their home.
“We are approaching a whole new phase of life and I’m not exactly what we are going to do,” McIntyre said.
McIntrye becomes the latest Central Illinois news anchor to retire. Bob Larson retired from WMBD after 43 years last fall.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
