This spring will mark the end of an era in Rochester television.
Don Alhart is retiring after 58 years at Channel 13 ( now WHAM-TV ). That's a world record for the longest television broadcast news career.
"People say, 'Hey I was here 20 years ago, I moved away, I came back, and you're still on the air.' I think people find comfort in that," Alhart said, describing why thinks he is popular among viewers.
In career spanning seven decades, he reported on the 1971 Attica Prison uprising and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But it was stories about ordinary people that Alhart seems to find most meaningful, such as the children in need of adoption who he regularly profiled in his "Friday's Child" feature.
"I'm hearing already from people that were adopted as a child and have grown up now and have families of their own," he said. "They're reaching out to make sure I remember the lives that I've been able to touch over the years."
Alhart was a student at Ithaca College when he joined the station as a part-time reporter in the summer of 1965. Following his graduation, he began working full-time on June 6, 1966.
Back then, he gathered film footage of news stories and brought the film back to the station to be processed. While digital technology has transformed broadcast news, Alhart said, the importance of connecting with and relating to viewers remains the same.
He tells younger colleagues to "put yourself on the other side of that camera. When you write a story, write it in a style that would be something you would remember. We're not out to impress people with your grammatical skills. You're there to communicate with people."
Doug Emblidge worked alongside Alhart for almost 40 years, before retiring from broadcasting in 2022. Emblidge praised Alhart's professional integrity and his personal strengths, including the ability to remain calm under pressure.
“His directive (was) to always choose the high road in our reporting," Emblidge said, also noting "the example of community service he set for all of us.”
Ginny Ryan, who also left Channel 13 in 2022, co-anchored the 11 p.m. newscast with Alhart for 30 years. She called him both a father figure and a friend. "(He is) a voice of reason, a force for good, and someone who also brings levity to the newsroom, even at the darkest moments," Ryan said.
Alhart will anchor his final newscast on Thursday, June 6, the 58th anniversary of his first day as a full-time employee at what was then WOKR-TV.
After growing accustomed to working around a broadcast schedule for so many years, he hopes to find a daily routine in retirement. He said his wife Mary wants him to stay busy.
He said he wants to be remembered as a person who cared about Rochester, his hometown, and who gave back through journalism and community service, including his work with Rochester Rotary and countless charitable endeavors.
"That's the example I would like to leave for people to follow," Alhart said. "A legacy that I hope will have an imprint on our community."
