Longtime anchor Mike Ross anchors his final newscast
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Longtime anchor Mike Ross brought his distinguished 47-year journalism career to a celebratory end Thursday night.
Mike anchored his final newscast at Alaska’s News Source after 19 years in the 49th state, and signed off at the end of the 6 p.m. newscast.
Mike joined Alaska’s News Source and KTUU in 2006. Mike is a staunch advocate for balanced, compelling, and viewer-focused storytelling.
“Mike has served as an invaluable newsroom mentor and manager, while always a consummate professional and trusted on-air presence for viewers across the great state of Alaska,” Director of News and Content Tracy Sabo said. “Whether offering comfort following a destructive, large-magnitude earthquake or natural disaster, or reacting with pure joy as Alaskan Olympians reach the pinnacle of sporting achievement, Mike has been a trusted source of critical news and information our viewers have relied on for nearly 18 years.”
Prior to moving to Alaska, Mike spent more than two decades in newsrooms across the Gulf South region of the United States. In the early 1980s, Mike reported in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Initially working in radio news, he would eventually transition to the role of weekend anchor and environmental reporter at WBRZ-TV.
Mike’s family first moved to New Orleans in 1974 when he was in high school. He would return to the iconic southern city in 1986 to join WWL-AM, where he anchored a three-hour all-news radio show in the afternoon.
Mike moved to WWL-TV in 1988, covering city hall, the Louisiana Legislature and numerous hurricanes, including Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, WWL-TV was the only television station in New Orleans that stayed on the air. The station’s coverage during and after the storm earned Mike and the WWL staff the George Foster Peabody Award, a national Edward R. Murrow Award, and the Alfred I. DuPont Award.
“Beyond his lifelong dedication to the field of journalism and passion for visual storytelling, Mike is simply a wonderful, genuine, and compassionate human being (and, OK, his puns are actually pretty funny, too),” Sabo said. “Away from the newsroom, Mike is a passionate community advocate.”
Mike regularly donates his time to nonprofit causes around Southcentral Alaska. Most importantly, Mike’s contribution to his community is his consistent, steady dedication to the craft of journalism.
“Mike’s retirement is so incredibly well-earned, but there are no words to adequately describe how much he will be missed here at Alaska’s News Source,” Sabo said.
Mike was named “Broadcaster of the Year” in 2019 by the Alaska Broadcasters Association, and was inducted that same year into the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) NW division “Silver Circle,” which recognizes those professionals who have performed distinguished service within the television industry for 25 years or more.
Mike graduated from Loyola University with a degree in Communications/Broadcast News. Married to Yvonne Burns, Mike is a father of three and grandfather of seven.
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