On Midday today, Tom's guest for the hour is an award-winning news anchor who has been a fixture on local television for decades. Stan Stovall will be retiring soon as an anchor at WBAL Television. In 1971, as an anchor at a station in Phoenix, Arisona, Stan was the youngest anchor in the United States. He was 18 years old.
His career as a newsman — behind the desk and in the field — has taken him to Philadelphia, St. Louis, and as a journalist with a keen interest in international affairs, he has reported from Southeast Asia, Central America, Russia, Ukraine, and Italy.
But it is his work at WMAR and WBAL that has endeared him to generations of viewers in the Baltimore metropolitan area. This past weekend, he was honored with a prestigious Gold Circle award by the National Capital/Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, for his 50+ years in TV broadcasting — an honor that has been bestowed on only 23 people.
And having made the decision to step away from the anchor desk, we thought we would take a minute to ask Stan to reflect on his career, and give our listeners a chance to share their reflections as well.
Stan Stovall joins Tom today in Studio A.
