Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Debby Knox, the TV news anchor who followed a 33-year run at WISH-TV Channel 8 with a career revival at WTTV-TV Channel 4, plans to retire at the end of November.
Knox told IBJ that her final newscast is set for 6 p.m. Nov. 30.
“I’m all about people leaving at the right time and doing the right thing,” Knox said. “I can see there’s very smart people coming up and they ought to be in the seat.”
Dominic Mancuso, vice president and general manager of CBS4 and sister station WXIN-TV Channel 59, characterized Knox as “a staple of Indiana TV news.”
“From interviews with Barack Obama, Mikhail Gorbachev and Barbara Bush to her countless awards and accolades, she is the definition of the consummate journalist,” Mancuso said. “Her extraordinary professionalism will be missed by all who watched her and worked with her.”
Michigan native Knox worked at WISH from 1980 until an initial retirement in 2013. She returned to TV news with a stint at WTTV, better known locally as CBS4, that began in January 2015.
Because WISH lost its CBS affiliation after Knox exited and WTTV gained the CBS affiliation before hiring Knox, she has been associated with the same national network throughout her time in Indianapolis.
WTTV built its CBS4 news identity around Knox and fellow veteran broadcasters Bob Donaldson, her co-anchor, and Chris Wright, the station’s lead meteorologist.
“CBS4 made a bigger splash, I think, than everybody anticipated,” Knox said. “I feel really great about getting CBS4 launched.”
In 2015, Fox59 and CBS4 were owned by Tribune Media Co. Texas-based Nexstar Media Group Inc. purchased Tribune Media Co. in 2019.
Knox, who will celebrate her 70th birthday in February, cited age as the primary reason for retirement. She also expressed belief in the future of TV news.
“It’s all about your phone now and the web,” she said. “Everybody sees it, and we all know it. I think there’s still a lot of juice for broadcast, but broadcast has to continually figure it out and stay with it and stay relevant to audiences that are changing.”
Knox said it’s been rewarding to work on current CBS4 coverage of Marion-based OB/GYN William David Moore, who’s been accused of malpractice by more than 80 women.
University of Michigan alum Knox said she plans to devote a good portion of her retirement to travel.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
She will be greatly missed by all who have followed Debbie’s career. Blessings for a great retirement and many years of travel & enjoyment. 🙏👍👍👋
Wish it were Angela Ganote.
Someone find Mark Patrick for one last “Debby Knox, you make the call” …
Second that!
Congratulations, enjoy a well deserved retirement.
I’ve always loved Debby Knox. She was grounded, professional, pleasant, accomplished, smart, fun, seasoned, and trustworthy. She made broadcasting look easy and natural though I’m sure she worked hard at it. The new ones will have a difficult time filling her very large shoes.
All the best to you, Debby. I’ll miss you, but have a wonderful time in retirement.