Guy Atchley is done.
When the 6 p.m. March 30 newscast on KGUN-TV is over, the anchor will end 34 years at the station and 50 years in broadcasting.
鈥淚 thought, 50 years? That鈥檚 a good time to go,鈥 says Atchley, sitting at Le Buzz Cafe where he is eating breakfast and greeting the many people who stop by to say hello.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e retiring?鈥 one woman asks. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e the last man I see besides my husband before I go to bed.鈥
Atchley laughs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the most attention I鈥檝e had in 34 years,鈥 the 67-year-old says.
Retiring, however, may not be the right word.
He plans to travel the state taking photographs. Watch 鈥 and take pictures of 鈥 his 10-year-old grandson playing baseball, and help his daughter Jami Good, who has multiple sclerosis.
People are also reading…
鈥淎fter 50 years, it鈥檚 time for something a little different,鈥 he says.
Atchley, whose home office is cluttered with photographs, says he really caught the photography bug seven years ago. Each of his KGUN telecasts ends with one of his photos.
IN THE BEGINNING
Atchley hails from Sapulpa, Oklahoma, a small town about 20 miles outside Tulsa. When he was born in 1950, his two sisters were 15 and 17.
鈥淚 really had three mothers,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey took care of me. Earlene would always point out that they ironed my diapers 鈥 back then they used cloth.鈥
At 4 years old, Atchley made his first media appearance on the front page of the Sapulpa Daily Herald in 1954.
Earlene, the eldest, was a tiny woman who contracted polio when she was 3 and suffered the after effects all her life. Atchley adored her.
鈥淓arlene was my guiding light,鈥 he says. 鈥淪he was always there. 鈥 I discussed everything with her. She was deeply religious and a beautiful person in every way.鈥
Earlene died when she was 58, and the emotions are still raw for Atchley.
鈥淚 saw the pain she would go through,鈥 he says as he tears up. 鈥淪he had pain her whole life. I saw that. It became a part of me. I don鈥檛 know if I can express what it did to me.鈥
Atchley was just as close to his mother, Irene, who died a few years ago at 93.
鈥淚 was a mama鈥檚 boy,鈥 he says.
鈥淢y mother was so proud of me. I really did everything for my mother, I really did.鈥
Atchley stands at his desk in the newsroom as he reads through his script before a 5 p.m. broadcast at KGUN. His first duty of the day is to record news shorts to promote the evening鈥檚 show. He is retiring March 30.
THE BROADCASTING BUG
Atchley was a junior in high school when he won a contest to DJ an hour a week on a popular rock 鈥檔鈥 roll station in Tulsa.
鈥淭he DJ would sit next to me and I鈥檇 introduce singers like Engelbert Humperdinck and Frank Sinatra,鈥 he recalls. 鈥淭he next day I would go to school and the kids would say 鈥榟eard you last night.鈥 That cinched it. I wanted to be a star.鈥
He went to the University of Tulsa and planned to make a career in radio.
In 1968, his freshman year, he did his first newscast on the campus station.
It did not go well.
鈥淢y first radio newscast I didn鈥檛 say a word,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 was wearing really thick glasses 鈥 I had very bad eyesight and it wasn鈥檛 much better with the glasses. I was nervous, the print was purple type on yellow paper and nobody had changed the ribbon. The song they were playing before they pointed to me to start was 鈥楢quarius鈥 by the 5th Dimension. As they faded out, so did I. That鈥檚 when I felt like giving up.鈥
He stuck with it and within six months of enrolling in school, Atchley says he realized he could be a star on TV, so he changed his concentration.
Guy Atchley at KTUL TV Tulsa, in 1976.
BEFORE KGUN
After graduation, Atchley worked at television stations in the Tulsa area and later in such places as Oklahoma City, Miami, Milwaukee.
He was let go only twice.
The first time, from a Tulsa station, still makes him cringe.
鈥淚 was doing a story on alcoholism and we had a (generic) image of a kid drinking from a can of beer,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 shouldn鈥檛 have allowed that on the air. The parents called the station and the news director took advantage of that, said 鈥業鈥檓 going to get rid of this guy.鈥欌
He was in his early 30s and his job was his life.
鈥淚 woke up the next morning wondering what was I going to do. I wound up taking a lot of long walks.鈥
But he learned a lesson: 鈥淎fter that, I never had all my eggs in one basket, realizing it can come and go.鈥
He was let go from his next job, too. He was in Oklahoma City and his contract wasn鈥檛 renewed after the first year.
鈥淭he reason it wasn鈥檛 renewed was because the station manager wanted to put his son-in-law in, which he did. He replaced me and I couldn鈥檛 argue with that because he looked like Superman, 6 feet tall, chiseled. Just a handsome guy.鈥
As it happened, a few weeks before he had been contacted by KGUN, which had seen a tape of Atchley鈥檚. He told the station manager that unless something happens, he was happy where he was.
鈥淭he first time I was fired I felt like a load of bricks fell on me,鈥 says Atchley. 鈥淭his time, I just walked right out of his office, walked to my phone, called Tucson and said 鈥榮omething has happened and I will reconsider your offer.鈥 He said 鈥業鈥檓 glad you called because this afternoon I was going to offer the job to somebody else.鈥 I was out here within a few days and they offered me the job.鈥
Bud Foster and Guy Atchley promotion photo from the 1990鈥檚.聽
KGUN
Atchley packed up his wife, Linda, and two children and settled into Tucson and as KGUN鈥檚 news anchor 34 years ago. He鈥檚 traveled the world, reporting from such places as China, Israel and Japan. He has won multiple awards for his journalism work.
And he鈥檚 gone through about six news directors and has survived. Though it wasn鈥檛 always easy.
鈥淲ith one, it was three years of going to work and just waiting. They finally walked her out the door. But I learned early on that that鈥檚 just part of the job 鈥 not knowing what today is going to bring.鈥
One thing Atchley says he won鈥檛 miss is putting on makeup before the KGUN telecasts.
A TYPICAL DAY
On a recent weekday, Atchley pulls into the KGUN station about 2 p.m. and heads straight for his desk, one of many in the open newsroom.
He has three hours before the first newscast. The first duty is to record news shorts to promote the evening鈥檚 show. He doesn鈥檛 sit at a computer 鈥 it is elevated so that he can stand when he works. He reads the copy on the screen out loud, in a voice soft enough that his co-workers won鈥檛 be distracted. His desk is neat but full of items such as grammar books and a makeup mirror. An old manual typewriter, the one he used when he first came to the station, takes up one corner of the desk.
As he heads to the recording studio, he continues to read the script. By the time he sits down to put it on tape, he has it word perfect. But he doesn鈥檛 like the way a sentence flows, stops, makes a mark on the paper, and says 鈥渢ake two.鈥 This time he glides right through it. He is done in minutes.
As 5 p.m. approaches, Atchley pulls out a small makeup case, sits down and brings the makeup mirror a little closer to him.
The moisturizer goes on first, concealer under the eyes, then powder applied with a fluffy makeup brush.
鈥淚f I do this too fast, I paint some of my gray hair and it comes up brown on the air,鈥 he says.
He is about done.
鈥淎nd now, the final thing, the eyebrows,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 learned from a consultant that eyebrows frame the face, and since my eyebrows disappear about half way over 鈥︹ He extends them subtly with a thick eyebrow pencil.
He is not fond of putting on makeup, he says. He won鈥檛 miss it.
He stands and goes over the half dozen or so ties on a hanger attached to his cubicle. He has close to 20 suits, he says. Many of those, and most of his ties, will be donated to Goodwill after March 30.
The newscasts go smoothly. His co-anchor, Stella Inger, is taller than the 5-foot -7-inch Atchley. His hydraulic chair is raised so they can be on an eye-to-eye level. When they do standing segments, he steps onto a box.
As the 5 p.m. newscast ends, Atchley begins to prepare for the 6 p.m. show. After that, he heads to dinner, then back to the station to wrap up his day with the 10 p.m. news.
Atchley takes part in some banter with co-anchor Stella Inger, right, and sports director Jason Barr during a 6 p.m. newscast at KGUN. He has been at the station for 34 years.
CO-WORKERS
Atchley is a popular man in the newsroom. People frequently come to his desk to chat. He stops what he is doing and gives them his full attention.
鈥淲hen viewers see Guy Atchley, they see an anchorman, someone who is so special,鈥 said co-anchor Inger, who has worked with him for five years.
鈥淏ut the personality we know here in the newsroom is someone who is funny and is still at the top of his game.鈥
He is the office grammarian, she says. 鈥淟ast year he went through this phase where he was reading a grammar book, a thick reference book. He was just reading it.鈥
Atchley is going to be missed, she says.
鈥淲hen I came here, he welcomed me with open arms. He鈥檚 been my go-to. He鈥檚 not only my co-anchor, he鈥檚 my friend.鈥
She begins to cry.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in this business for 15 years and I鈥檝e had some really mean co-anchors. When I came here, I wondered what I was going to get. And he was so nice. 鈥 He鈥檚 been my rock. But I鈥檓 happy for him.鈥
KGUN meteorologist Erin Christiansen has worked with Atchley for a dozen years. She had been at KVOA-TV before moving over and knew his work well.
鈥淗e is such an icon in this market,鈥 she says. 鈥淗e was always so stoic on the air. When I got here I found he was really quirky. He鈥檚 silly and so much fun.鈥
Paden Good poses for a photo with his grandfather at the studios. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to be my No. 1 thing when I sign off,鈥 Atchley says.
PADEN
About an hour before a recent 5 p.m. newscast, Atchley heads to the set and sets up his tripod and camera. His one and only grandchild, 10-year-old Paden Good, is coming in to have his pictures taken with him, a ritual they鈥檝e done a number of times over the years. This will be the last time for the ritual.
Atchley is crazy about the kid.
鈥淚 love him. He鈥檚 going to be my No. 1 thing when I sign off. My next six months will mostly be watching him play ball and taking pictures of him playing ball.鈥
Paden is pretty crazy about his grandfather, too.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a nice guy,鈥 says Paden. 鈥淗e鈥檚 really kind of fun to hang around with.鈥
He likes the taste of fame he gets when classmates find out his grandfather is on TV. But not enough to regret his retiring.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to spend a lot of time together, so that鈥檚 just as fun.鈥
ON-AIR GAFFES
Atchley doesn鈥檛 remember many of them, but he still chuckles at this one: 鈥淚 was suppose to say that 鈥榝armers need a good crop,鈥 and I said 鈥榝armers need a good crap.鈥欌
FAVORITE INTERVIEWS
Atchley was in Florida when Mother Teresa was there to establish a home for battered women. He didn鈥檛 get a one-on-one with her, but was there for her press conference.
鈥淛ust to witness her and the people who came from all over the country just to touch her garment鈥 was moving, he says.
His favorite one-on-one interview was with the late Leo Buscaglia, who wrote about the power of love in 鈥淟iving, Loving and Learning鈥 and other books.
鈥淗e sat down with me and his eyes were piercing. It felt like they were burning a hole in me. He was genuine.鈥
PHOTOGRAPHY
Atchley has always loved photography, but he started snapping photos with a fever about seven years ago.
He had been doing news segments dubbed Guy Atchely鈥檚 Arizona, which showcased his photos. At the time, the news director 鈥 different director and different owners than now 鈥 decided she wanted to get rid of the series.
鈥淭hey had an executive vice president fly in to set me down,鈥 Atchley recalls. 鈥淗e said, 鈥榊ou know, Guy, people aren鈥檛 really interested in pretty pictures of Arizona.鈥 I didn鈥檛 say anything to him. I never fight. And I just thought, 鈥榳ell, I like to go out and shoot them, so that鈥檚 what I am going to do.鈥 鈥
Now, each of his newscasts ends with a photo he has taken.
Recently, he sat in his home office, dogs at his feet, walls cluttered with photos, and scrolled through his digital files looking for shots for the evening鈥檚 shows.
He scrolls through pictures of his grandson, classic cars, landscapes, birds 鈥 favorites subjects of his. With a couple of visitors there, he can鈥檛 help himself: He stops to tell something about each: who it is, where it was taken, how he dented the top of his pickup when he stood on the roof to take this picture, how he got his car stuck in the sand taking that one.
It鈥檚 clear that his retirement activity will keep him busy.
鈥淚鈥檓 thankful I still have it,鈥 Atchley says of his signature hair.聽
HIS HAIR
鈥淚鈥檓 thankful I still have it,鈥 Atchley says with a laugh.
He does still have it 鈥 a full head of it. And he has not stuck with one style all these years.
It鈥檚 been longish, short, side-parted and combed back. And once, a buzz cut.
鈥淭he first day I got my buzz cut it was looking really bad because it was too long,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t stood up long and spiky. We had 50 phone calls in the matter of 15 minutes. 鈥榃hat happened to him,鈥 they said.鈥
YOGA
Atchley was introduced to yoga at a conference he attended and started taking classes.
After about a year, he thought 鈥淚 could teach this.鈥
He took three weeks off 鈥 the longest period he鈥檚 ever had off 鈥 and traveled to Spain for a yoga intensive.
鈥淚 learned a hell of a lot from yoga,鈥 he says. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 learn something to decompress then you鈥檙e going to be in trouble. In any typical day, there are a zillion things in the newsroom that you can get in an argument over.鈥
When he returned to Tucson, he taught for about a year.
鈥淚f I didn鈥檛 like going out and taking photographs so much, I probably would still be teaching.鈥
But yoga did give him a mantra to live by: 鈥淩elease judgment,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hat sums up my goal in life.鈥
Atchley recording a news brief inside a radio studio, says he will miss his co-workers when he retires.
WHAT HE鈥橪L MISS
鈥淚 still think I鈥檓 going to meet interesting people, so that鈥檚 taken care of,鈥 he says.
Then he mentions his co-workers.
鈥淚 really do feel like the people there like me, and I know I like them,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to miss them.鈥
REGRETS
鈥淭he biggest regret would be missing out on time with the kids,鈥 Atchley says.
鈥淭o be on prime time news, you work nights. I knew that, and that it would take away from them.鈥
Guy Atchley, left, reports on the days news during the 5:00 p.m. broadcast inside the KGUN 9 On Your Side studio on March 09, 2018, as Gina Elias, a studio technician stands by. Atchley is retiring after over thirty years in the news business.
RETIREMENT
鈥淎 lot of my time now is spent in a cubicle,鈥 says Atchley. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to spend as much time outside as I can.鈥
He鈥檒l hang with Paden, take lots of pictures, maybe make a book of his photos, maybe sell them.
And one more thing:
鈥淚 think I鈥檓 going to let my hair grow long,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nd maybe grow a beard.鈥
Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@tucson.com or 573-4128. On Twitter: @kallenStar.
Kathleen Allen
Reporter
