An Iowa television anchor became emotional during a live broadcast as he announced he was resigning and leaving journalism, while also criticizing his station for delivering what he described as “saturated” news that leaves local audiences feeling “uncomfortable.”
Dustin Nolan, a morning anchor at Davenport’s NBC affiliate KWQC-TV 6, made the tearful announcement on Friday, stopping several times to compose himself before directing sharp criticism at the station.
“I have chosen to step away from the news industry,” said Nolan, who joined KWQC in 2022.
“Before I say goodbye, I just want to say, I hope every one of you that’s allowed me to be a part of your mornings just how important that I have taken this job, how much it means to me that you’ve trusted me these past few years to bring you the news in the morning.”
The visibly upset anchor said he had “given everything” to providing the Quad Cities with clear, truthful and fact-based reporting, describing local journalism as a “public service.”
Nolan said his goal had always been to cover the “issues that really matter.”
“I’ve always believed that we as a local news station owe you, the viewers, the best that we can do, because without you, none of us would be able to do this job,” Nolan added.
“I also believe that we, as a local news station, have to be more than trends or sanitized news, because it makes people feel uncomfortable,” he continued.
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“That’s why the facts matter, and that’s why we do what we do here. We have to take people out of their bubbles and comfort zones and make them think about the world we all live in.”
The tearful anchor went on to praise his co-anchor – his wife Jenna – as the “greatest co-anchor in life.”
Nolan has worked at the Gray Media-owned station since November 2022, according to his LinkedIn.
After graduating from Catholic St. Ambrose University in Iowa, he began his career reporting sports in Wyoming for seven months before moving to Illinois, where he worked as a sports reporter at WQAD for nearly two years.
He later rose to a morning news anchor role at WFBF in Illinois, where he spent three years before joining KWQC.
