THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604190525
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Jim Kincaid, the former ABC News war correspondent who 18 years ago brought a solid, sober, no-frills approach to anchoring the news at WVEC, announced Thursday that he soon will give up his job on the station's 6 p.m. newscast.
``For reasons of age and health, I've decided to forsake the daily grind of journalism,'' Kincaid told viewers at the end of Thursday night's newscast.
However, Kincaid, 62, is not leaving Channel 13.
``I have not been phased out, forced out or downsized out,'' he said on the air.
Kincaid will continue to do the folksy commentary which has been a popular fixture on the 6 p.m. newscasts. Kincaid will tape the TV notes.
Kincaid also is expected to do news specials and contribute to the station's political coverage in 1996.
WVEC's management immediately announced that Terry Zahn, who co-anchors the news at 5 and 11 p.m., will move into Kincaid's anchor chair late in May.
``Think of me from now on as anchorman emeritus,'' said Kincaid.
His broadcasting career, which includes reporting in Southeast Asia - where he sustained painful back injuries in a helicopter crash - started 43 years ago.
``It's time to slow down. Lately, I've been feeling older than I should,'' Kincaid said in an interview Thursday night.
In semi-retirement on his wooded farm in Elam, Va., Kincaid expects to write and engage in his new passion - forestry. ``I've always wanted to be a forest ranger, and now here's my chance,'' said Kincaid.
At a meeting Thursday afternoon, the WVEC newsroom was told of Kincaid's decision to give up the anchor chair and his Sunday morning program, ``Jim Kincaid's Top Stories.''
It has been an eventful week for WVEC's news operation.
Station general manager Richard J. Keilty, who earlier in the week made the move to hire former WAVY anchor Carol Hoffman for WVEC's morning team, said he had hoped to have Kincaid aboard full time through the end of the decade.
But that was not to be.
``We respect his wishes to cut back,'' he said. ``Jim has served this station and the community well. He has made us feel that he is a part of our families.''
WVEC news director David Cassidy said Kincaid is leaving the anchor desk as the king of this TV market, a newsman who set the standard for solid, dependable coverage that did not need ``bells and whistles'' to attract viewers.
Until WAVY and WTKR in recent months mounted a strong challenge at 6 p.m., Kincaid's team at WVEC rode high in the ratings for years.
As Kincaid leaves, all three stations are in a virtual tie for most viewers at 6. Zahn coming aboard at 6 will likely bring younger viewers to that newscast. But it just won't be the same without Kincaid at the anchor desk.
As he signed off Thursday night, Kincaid said the commentaries have always been his favorite part of the job, and that is why he will continue with them. He came to WVEC with several goals, said Kincaid, including the desire to give his family a sense of belonging to a community.
He was weary of the travel that came with being an ABC correspondent. Kincaid was working in ABC's Washington bureau when Tom Chisman, the founder of WVEC, brought him to Norfolk 18 years ago. Yearning to sleep in the same bed ``on a more regular basis'' was another reason why he joined Channel 13.
``Thanks to the Almighty and WVEC's management, I've been able to achieve my goals,'' said Kincaid. It was an emotional moment for the Kincaid team of co-anchor Cynthia Lima, meteorologist Jeff Lawson and sports reporter Scott Cash. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
VETERAN NEWSCASTER STEPS ASIDE
BILL TIERNAN
The Virginian-Pilot
``For reasons of age and health, I've decided to forsake the daily
grind of journalism,'' Jim Kincaid told viewers Thursday night.
by CNB