unljnews

By BECKY GAILEY
J Alumni News staff

Phil Witt gave advice to journalism students at a visit to the J school

Phil Witt’s primary job may be anchoring the evening newscasts on WDAF-TV FOX 4 in Kansas City, but working for his community comes in as a close second.

Witt, who graduated from the J school in 1974, received the Alumni Award of Excellence for Outstanding Broadcasting during the 2010 J Days celebration in April.

While Witt, who joined WDAF in 1979, received the alumni award for his years of dedicated reporting, a big part of his life has been dedicated to leading and supporting community projects in the Kansas City area.

“[Volunteering] has been my joy and my privilege,” he said. “I like to hope I have possibly had an impact on the people I’ve been involved with, but in reality it has enriched my life.

“I hate to think I would go through life reporting on problems without being a part of solutions. … Journalism brings issues to light, but more needs to be done.”

Getting involved

Witt has worked with the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, the American Cancer Society and several programs that support people with HIV/AIDS. He has received numerous awards for his volunteer work, including a Presidential Citation. Witt said Kansas City has a rich tradition of news people being involved in the community.

Professor Larry Walklin, who was Witt’s broadcasting instructor at the J school, said Witt exemplifies what journalists want to be like.

“He is intelligent, thoughtful, ethical and understands the power of being in a big market. … Even though he is well-known, he knows how to handle himself and is still the basic guy from Winside.”

That’s Winside, Neb., a town of 450 people in the northeast corner of Nebraska where Witt grew up. He described himself as a child of the first TV generation that was addicted to television, but it was an American tragedy that made him specifically love the news.

“It was sixth grade in the fall, and my teacher came rushing in breathless, announcing President Kennedy had been killed. Class was canceled, and I rushed homed and turned on the TV. It was November in Nebraska and there was not much to do,” he said. “So for three straight days I watched TV news, and so I became addicted to TV news.”

During his senior year in high school, Witt reported on local news for the radio station in nearby Wayne, Neb., and then attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After graduation, Witt worked at KMEG television station in Sioux City, Iowa, for three years and then moved on to KCCI in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1979, Witt made his way to Kansas City, Mo., where he still lives with his wife; their three grown children live nearby.

KC Hyatt disaster helps shape career

Only two years after arriving in Kansas City, Mo., Witt covered the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse that killed more than 114 people and injured more than 200. He called the event his most memorable story because of the effect it had on the community and the impact it had on him as a young reporter.

Another career-shaping story was the news series and documentary he produced about Kansas City’s war against drugs in the 1990s and for which he won a regional Emmy.

Witt said he is satisfied with his career thus far, but he hopes to continue to challenge himself and do good work for as long as the industry will keep him around. He said the key to journalism is adaptability, and he looks forward to seeing if he can continue to keep up with the technological changes in the news industry. No matter how many changes he has seen in his career, Witt said, “that will be a drop in the bucket compared to what [future journalists] will see.”

Honoring work with breadth and depth

According to Ann Pedersen, a classmates of Witt’s and a board member of the CoJMC Alumni Association, which selects alumni award winners, Witt’s continual dedication to journalism made him an obvious choice.

“Phil has worked in the Kansas City market most of his professional career,” Pedersen wrote in an e-mail. “He has been honored by his community and his peers for the breadth and quality of his work.  These are the type of graduates we look for when selecting individuals to honor for the alumni awards.  I just wish we would have honored him even earlier than we did.”

While he is now recognized as one of Kansas City’s major news anchors, Witt said he still thinks of himself as a reporter. He said he prides himself on being a good storyteller and enjoys meeting interesting people and telling their stories to viewers. This dedication has earned him many awards, with the Alumni Award of Excellence for Outstanding Broadcasting being only the latest.

“It floored me,” Witt said of receiving the award. “I know what wonderful undergraduates this school turns out, and I know some past honorees, and I am just honored and privileged to be recognized by what I consider one of the best journalism and mass communications colleges in the country.”