NORFOLK, Va. — On April 2, 1950, the first television station in Hampton Roads went on air, and over the years, we've become acquainted with many familiar faces: Ed Hughes, Bruce Barry, Becky Livas, Jane Gardner, Les Smith, and Barbara Ciara—one of the longest-serving anchors in Hampton Roads.
While she had many assignments during her time here, Barbara says a few stand out.
"I'd have to begin with the overseas travel we did with the TR after 9/11." In addition to her coverage with the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Barbara also remembers one of her many memorable interviews, "Of course, that one-on-one with President Barack Obama in 2012."
Watch related coverage: WTKR honors its history-making female journalists on 75th anniversary
Another familiar face, Nate Custer, spent nearly 40 years here reporting largely on the General Assembly and Peninsula news.
Nate recalls, "I went up a few times to Capitol Hill during the whole Watergate thing, and when President Nixon was resigning... the effort to oust President Nixon, and how the local Virginia delegation, how they were handling that."
Bianca Martinez was with WTKR from 2005-2014, and on this 75th anniversary, she reflects on her time here: "I think what jumps out to me the most is just how proud I was of being a part of the WTKR team in those big moments, and there were a number of them while we were there. The Suffolk tornado. I mean, that has stuck with me forever. I remember being in the newsroom while that was happening and it was a heartbreaking moment for what was happening in our community. And how we told the story and how we did it with caring and feeling—they were our neighbors and I was so proud of us in that moment."
Bob Matthews was on our airwaves for 18 years, reporting on a wide range of stories. Looking back, he remembers one urgent phone call on September 11, 2001.
"I'm taking my daughter, who's now 25, to daycare when I get a call from our assignment editor, Katherine Goff, who said, 'Get in here as fast as you can. The World Trade Center has been hit by a plane.' And I just remember it being so surreal. I remember our news director at the time, John Wesley, had to quiet everybody down, and said, 'This is going to be a scary day—we need to go out there and do our jobs and do it as best as we possibly can, and get the information out to everybody.'"
In addition to those major headlines we covered, there are also special memories of the relationships that were formed between employees at WTKR. Just ask Laila Muhammad, who spent years at the station.
"It was, you know, spending time with everyone's families and being there for the birth of the babies. And the bonds we have, the quality time we spent off the air, and all the people behind the scenes, the photographers, the editors, everyone that makes the magic that people see on TV, and that's what I love the most," she shared.
Bianca adds, "I don't think people really understand these relationships that we build with everybody when we're on the set with them every day."
Glenn Corillo, who went by the on-air name Glenn Corey, was with WTKR from 1978-1998 and agrees wholeheartedly about the impactful relationships at News 3.
"Anne Keffer was my co-anchor, and she was brilliant and easy to work with, and I miss her," he shared.
One work relationship Glenn formed led to marriage: He married one of the station directors and they had Todd, who later followed in his father's footsteps.
"Growing up around it, never thought I wanted to come and do it. It wasn't until college when I did an internship here at Channel 3, Barbara Ciara was running it, and I fell in love, and I knew it was something I wanted to do," said Todd.
One of Todd's favorite memories as our military reporter is flying with the Navy's Blue Angels—something his dad did when he worked here—and Glenn was there when it was Todd's turn. "So it was so cool to be in the jet, to be flying with the Blue Angels, but then to also get to share that moment with him and have that connection, father and son years later."
