Given the man's longevity in the market, I can't blame other media for making a story out of today's press conference announcement of tomorrow's retirement announcement. If you needed any confirmation of why TV depends on personalities ...

I would note, however, that Shelby's retirement is, in and of itself, hardly news. Minnesota Monthly's Tim Gihring, for example, had an excellent discussion of the matter in the November 2009 Minnesota Monthly. You can find a reference to it in this May 2009 Bemidji State University announcement. So as long goodbyes go, this is a pretty long one.

Newscut's Bob Collins has at least used the news to get a jump on the retrospectives, and he provides a pretty good showcase for Shelby's charming egotism. (I do not mean that pejoratively; there are few guys in town who are so winning while being so show-offy.)

But of course, Shelby is also a newsman, and it's worth remembering that. While his early career as an I-Team reporter appears woefully under-archived (I hope WCCO.com will fix that Wednesday), you can see Shelby's first show as the permanent 10 p.m. anchor (1985), plus and a weekend anchoring stint from 1979 (a year after WCCO hired him; the pipe is priceless!) at the always-excellent TCMediaNow.

You won't want to miss the promo reel either — it's at the top of the page — featuring Shelby showing his investigative chops by looking through a magnifying glass. There's also a guest appearance by WKRP's Johnny Fever.

By the way, TCMN also has Dave Moore's last 10 p.m.-er; I'm told Moore signed off on a Friday and Shelby took over a Monday, an abrupt switch-over that didn't exactly stem the angry viewer calls. Maybe Don will talk about that Wednesday, but the slower shuffling off the stage may be a way to make the latest transition less painful for all concerned.