OLD FRIENDS: “…they shine like diamonds. Old Friends you can always call. Old Friends Lord you can’t buy them. You know it’s Old Friends after all.” -Guy Clark
The mildly chaotic morning was interrupted by a message from a familiar voice.
“Mr. Haldeman, this is Marcus Moore from KBTX back in the day…”
That opening line made me literally laugh out loud. First off, he called me Mister. Second off, a NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT from ABC NEWS just introduced himself as being from KBTX back in the day. Something all of us old KBTX-ers would probably do in similar fashion. I adore this guy and I could have spent all day and into the night listening to his stories from the road and beyond.
Marcus started working at KBTX-TV in Bryan, Texas when he was 18 years old and still in school at A&M Consolidated High, an unheard of – but brilliant idea. He was that good. He still is.
I haven’t seen him in more than 15 years.
He went on to Mizzou for a time, then to WAPT in Jackson, Mississippi. His coverage of Hurricane Katrina got him noticed by his corporate leadership at Hearst and he was off to Kansas City for several years before landing at WFAA-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth. A dream job for anybody in our industry. He could have enjoyed a long career at channel 8.
But he didn’t.
ABC News called him up to the big leagues, where he remains today. While he’s still based in Dallas, he travels the country to tell stories. He always has a bag packed and he’s still working on how to stay healthy on the road. His commitment to the craft hasn’t changed and his talent still shines like it always has.
But he remembers the early days, and that core group of young misfits who were crazy enough to be journalists and love it. We were all so young!
It was nice catching up. More than nice actually. Better description: soothing for the soul.
It’s all about people. L-R: your content contributor, Marcus Moore, and KBTX alum/current KXXV Asst. News Director Sylvia “Sly” Villarreal
Charlie Haldeman 