Forty years ago, in 1978, Clarice Tinsley moved from Milwaukee to Dallas to anchor the 10 p.m. news for KDFW-TV, known today as Fox4. She came from a station that featured a puppet called Albert the Alley Cat, who would assist the meteorologist by dressing in attire appropriate for the weather. She found larger opportunities in North Texas. In 1985, she won a Peabody and a DuPont award here in Dallas, for digging into the city’s 911 call system.
A decade ago, local TV critic Ed Bark wrote that nobody locally could touch her 30-year, single-station career. Well, she’s lasted another 10 years, and Fox4 is dedicating a half-hour segment called “CT40” to her Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. Tune in, and relive her career. She stopped by Table No. 1 at the Old Monk to talk about her career and answer some of the pressing questions most Googled by her curious fans: Clarice Tinsley’s family; Clarice Tinsley’s salary; Clarice Tinsley’s height; Clarice Tinsley’s age; Clarice Tinsley’s sister.
Alright, now that we’ve captured all that Google traffic—#CT40 will feature interviews with Tinsley’s husband as well as her coworkers, both current and past. It’ll include at least a half dozen hairstyles, if this promo video is any indication, and a nice snapshot of North Texas news through the ages. Bark calls her the “dean of DFW news anchors,” and she works hard to live up to that every night. Although she’s too humble to call herself that. Show notes after the jump.
1. Dallasites, meet Albert the Alleycat, the pride of Milwaukee.
2. Here’s a longer piece from Tim, wherein he lays out his criticism of news anchors reading Facebook comments on air.
3.More on the guy who drove his truck into Fox4’s downtown headquarters.
4. Here’s the spoof video Tim brings up. It is incredible.
5. In case you forgot about evil Sinclair Broadcast Group, here you are.
