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Don Shelby's retirement: A look back to the beginning

By David Brauer | 05/11/10

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. 

Comments (9)

Submitted by Chuck Terhark on May 11, 2010 - 12:53pm.

I'm not sure "Moore on 4" was the best marketing slogan.

Submitted by David Brauer on May 11, 2010 - 1:01pm.

Chuck - there was also "Moore on Sunday." Trust me, Dave Moore loved the double meaning.

Submitted by John Reinan on May 11, 2010 - 2:28pm.

Geez, I've never understood the attachment people form with TV news readers. I get it that they come into your home every night, blah blah blah. But still.

My favorite old high school teacher, long retired, is famously anti-TV -- except, she keeps an ancient old set because she loves to watch Dave Dahl do the weather.

Go figure.

Submitted by Tom Oszman on May 11, 2010 - 2:41pm.

Moore, Moore and "4" was WCCO's campaign to promote Dave Moore and new anchor "Doug Moore" (who was not related to Dave). Doug Moore, who came from Milwaukee was WCCO's answer to youthful Ron Magers at then number one rated KSTP-TV.

Submitted by Hal Sanders on May 11, 2010 - 4:05pm.

People tend to ignore the fact that Dave Moore had no news background. He was an actor at a local dinner theater when he was hired.

Submitted by John Reinan on May 11, 2010 - 5:52pm.

That's why I think we should adopt the British custom of calling them "news readers."

Submitted by Neal Gendler on May 11, 2010 - 8:04pm.

Hal is correct, and Dave always self-effacingly said he wasn't a newsman (I even heard him say it as he sat banging out a news story in the WCCO newsroom). But over a number of months I did some work at WCCO, I many times saw Dave at work. Despite lack of formal training, he was no simple talking head; he knew what news is and he knew how to present it.

To the best of my knowledge, Dave was a pretty normal guy, as we news people go. I read (in more than one place) that Dave rode the bus to and from work, and so far as I know, he was never too full of himself to live the way most of us live (in a normal-size house in south Minneapolis)and to talk with folks who wanted to talk with him.

One of the reasons people were so attached to him was that he was a long-familiar face, but it's my impression that another -- maybe the most important -- was that he was, or at least seemed, so real.

He also once delivered a line that only would work coming from him. Introducing a story about a bank robbery that was captured on video tape, he said (as close as I can recall the first part): "Here's a message for the man who held up the XXX bank this morning: Your pictures are ready!"

Submitted by David Koski on May 11, 2010 - 10:39pm.

All I needed was to hear Shelby say "all right everybody, listen up" , like big daddy Don was going to tell me how it is. I cursed him out loud and never bothered to listen to him with any seriousness again. He was the beginning of the end of non-opinionated news casting. Hey Don, listen up, many will not miss you.

Submitted by Bob Quarrels on May 13, 2010 - 10:06am.

Shelby, while he has the journalistic credentials Dave Moore didn't, presides over a mighty dim newscast these days. In the late 80s, Moore published a book of letters from viewers with his responses. It's obvious he knew the news as well as anyone. While some letters were about Dave's ties and such, others had serious reactions to serious news stories. They used to do reports that provoked and prodded. Now it's Good Question and "The Vascelleroes Build Their Dream House."

Also, seeing Shelby at 10 surprised anyone when he took over, they must have been living under a rock. Channel 4 promoted the hell out of it. There were "Tonight. Together." bus sides with Don and Pat photographed so close together they could neck. On premiere night, they ran a two- or three-full-page ad in the Star and Tribune.