Don Alhart signs off at WHAM Rochester June 6, marking 58 years since he joined the station, to the day, back in 1966. Fittingly enough, for a guy who started at the station on 6/6/66, Alhart delivers the 6 p.m. news 6/6, and is done.
“Don is one of the kindest and most genuine persons you could ever meet,” Chuck Samuels, VP and general manager, WHAM-WUHF, told B+C. “I think that’s been the secret to his success. He loves and cares about Rochester and has given so much of himself to make it a better community. It’s cliché to say he’s one of a kind, but I think anyone who knows him would agree.”
Alhart, who is 80, worked at WHAM during college at Ithaca. Days after graduating, he was hired for a full-time role.
Late last year, Guinness World Records noted that Alhart has the record for “the longest career as a TV news broadcaster (male).”
Looking across his career, he’s particularly proud of the “Bright Spot” segments that air at the end of the 6 p.m. newscasts, and focus on something positive. Those came to be at a Rotary Club meeting, and an interaction with an attendee frustrated by all the negativity in news.
“Every day, even after 9/11, we have found a bright spot,” Alhart told B+C.
Alhart is thinking about what to do after retiring. There’s his 2 ½ mile daily walking routine. There may be a podcast, focusing on the positive, like “Bright Spot” has always done.
WHAM colleagues have left a bevy of tributes for Alhart on the station site. Former news director Matt Malyn shared a little verse:
“Words can’t express what you meant to so many. The city, the station, and views aplenty. I’ll end this by saying, Many thanks to you, Don. You’ll always be with us, legends live on.”
