After 42 years at the Audacy-owned San Francisco news station KCBS, Bob Butler has retired.
“I’ve been here more than half my life. Even though I know it’s been coming, it’s emotional,” Butler said. “I’m going to miss the people.”
Butler joined KCBS Radio in 1981 when he was 28 years old after serving in the Navy and working as a Bell Telephone 411 directory assistant. He previously worked at KBLX in Berkeley and KDIA Radio in Oakland before moving to KCBS Radio.
He was active in the SAG-AFTRA Union that represents broadcasters, later going on to become National Broadcast Vice President in 2019. He is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. He became Regional Director in 2007 before being promoted to Vice President of Broadcast in 2009. He was elected as the NAJB’s 20th President in 2013.
During an appearance on the station’s Ask An Expert program, Butler shared that one of his first days working in the field was the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, where he bumped into a high-profile figure during an emotional moment.
“I go out in the Marina District and I’m watching people walking with all they can carry in a shopping cart,” said Butler. “That was their life that was in that shopping cart and it was really traumatic. I sat there at lunch in Marina Middle School and all of a sudden I started crying. I just got overwhelmed with the tragedy and someone started rubbing me on my shoulders and I looked around and it was Nancy Pelosi.”
