Sad to learn of the passing of Bill Markham earlier this week. I don't think we ever actually met, but I certainly knew who he was and had nothing but respect for him.
Maybe spoke on the phone once or twice or shook hands in passing, but we didn't know each other on a personal level, but he'd certainly been in my home a time or two. Figuratively speaking, anyway.
That's how it is with certain people in the media. We make a conscious effort to invite them into our homes, and in some cases, they become regular visitors. This is especially true of newspaper columnists, TV news anchors and radio on-air personalities because they are usually on the air at the same times every day . Listening to them becomes as routine as when you eat breakfast or dinner and where you sit when you do so.
I've listened to the same radio personality for nearly 30 years while I either get ready in the morning or make my commute to work. Before his death, multiple generations grew up with Luther Masingill coming into their living room, TV or car every day.
He was as much a part of everyday life for many people as the sun coming up. Likewise, Markham at WRCB-TV 3 was the go-to guy for TV news for many people, bringing not only the news but special reports related to our community. One of the weird sort of facts about radio and TV people in our area is that a good many of them rarely leave. That means viewers become even more attached to the local anchors and reporters.
They feel like they know them as a family member.
My degree is in broadcast journalism and I thought I wanted to do that. I interned at WDEF-TV 12 years ago and then, as now, we were a mid-size market. People with aspirations of making the big time like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles viewed Chattanooga as a stepping stone.
It was not unusual during my weekend gigs at the station to see reporters and anchors working on their resume tapes. In some cases, not too long after they'd been hired.
But for a variety of reasons, people began wanting to stay and they have, either at the same place or they switched from station to station. What's even more interesting is that they like each other. The Veterans of Radio Wars is an informal gathering of longtime media types, and they meet once a year to pick on each other, remember the old days and hug and howdy.
It's a pretty neat group and Markham, who retired in 2012, was part of that, and he will be missed.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.