Thursday marked the end of an era on Seattle’s Morning News, as longtime hosts Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien signed off from the KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM show.
The duo had helmed mornings together for the past decade. For Ross, it was the culmination of a 47-year career working for the Bonneville Seattle news/talk station.
Many high-profile guests from the Seattle and Washington state political scene made guest appearances during Thursday’s show, including Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA). Additionally, many current and former KIRO Newsradio personnel shared their memories of Ross and well-wishes for his future as he stepped away.
King County, where Seattle serves as the county seat, proclaimed Thursday, December 19th as “Dave Ross Day” in the county and its 39 cities.
Ross was succinct in his farewell message to Seattle listeners.
“You talk in a closed room, you don’t see the audience most of the time, and you wonder ‘Did I do anything today?’,” Ross said. “And I guess we did … What can I say? I want to see radio stay alive. It’s live, it’s immediate. There’s no buffering. It’s from our studio to that transmitter to that radio. Every smartphone should have an FM radio built in. AM, apparently, is technically impossible.
“But you should have an FM radio, because I tell you what, the day the internet goes dark radio will still be there. As long as there are people like you to do still do it. That’s your mission. That is my charge to you as the outgoing host of Seattle’s Morning News,” concluded Ross.
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