Thanks for joining us here on 9 news
Blossom here with Nine News legend and
soon to be retired legend, Gary Shapiro.
Gary, thanks so much for taking a few
minutes of your time to lend us an
expert your kind of insight about what
you've experienced here at 9 news.
First things first,
what are you most excited about when
it comes to retirement? There's
just so much
sleeping in, of course.
I've been getting up at 2:00
o'clock in the morning for three
decades maybe. Three years, 3 decades,
and and walk us through your journey
here at 9 news, how long you've
been here and what you've done.
I know you've done various roles.
Walk us through that.
Yeah. So I've been here 39 years. You know,
I've always wanted to work in Denver.
That was that was my goal when I graduated
from journalism school in Nebraska,
was to try and get a job here.
Ended up working in Omaha.
I ended up working in Wichita, KS.
I went to Graduate School in Iowa.
And, you know, it was a journey to get here.
But finally somebody hired me.
And I wanted to work in Denver because
not only is it a terrific TV market,
but, you know, I'm a skier. So.
So I wanted to do some skiing,
you know, so I was a little bit selfish.
But anyway, I came and,
and my first job was in the Boulder Bureau.
I was a reporter.
We had four bureaus at
that time in the state.
One of them was in Boulder.
And then they brought me to Denver,
and I was a reporter in Denver.
I was the 10:00 PM reporter.
So I went from 10:00 PM to the morning show,
which was, you know,
which was quite a surprise for me.
The alarm goes off when anyway,
in 1989, Bush Montoya,
the news director,
gave me the job as as morning
anchor and I thought, well,
it's a great morning show,
I'll give it a year or two.
And 32 years later,
here I AM,
32 years later.
Well, I guess one thing comes to mind.
Coming going back to your
maybe childhood a little bit.
Yeah, that kind of interested
me something you just said.
You said you always wanted
to come to Denver.
You mentioned skiing.
Was was skiing the primary
kind of alert for you in
terms of coming here?
It actually
was. Yeah. My family in Nebraska,
you know, if you live in
Nebraska and you want to ski,
you come to Denver, right. Yeah.
And so we did a lot of family vacations
out here and that sort of thing.
And and when I was in college.
Came out to visit a lot and and just
fell in love with the area and and
I'm still in love with the area.
I think it's great and you plan
to stick around here in the
plan to stick around for sure.
Matter of fact funny you ask.
I'm going to be doing some part
time work for channel 9 next year.
So you'll see me once in a while.
I'm going to be doing some
positively Colorado features that
will run on the morning show.
I'm going to do a couple of specials this
year and so I get to keep my hand in it.
I just don't have to get up at 2:00 AM.
That's I think pretty nice to hear
about that. How is 9 news itself?
I would imagine it's evolved and
changed a little bit over the years.
Give us some stories or maybe
some background about what it was
like when you first started here.
Yeah, everything
has changed except I think
the quality of the station.
We were still really good
station in 1983 when I started.
But as far as technology
and the way we do things,
I mean everything has changed.
We used to, you know,
carry these cameras that.
And, and I shot a video when
I first started at channel 9,
I was, I was you know,
they called him one man bands
then now they're backpack
journalist but it's the same thing.
Anyway.
So we had like probably £50 cameras
and it was attached to a 30 pound
recorder that was about this big.
And then you had to wear a belt
that was batteries around your
waist and then you had to wear
another belt on top of that.
That was the light on top of the camera.
And so you're walking around
with like 80 pounds.
And and I said to myself.
As soon as I get the chance to be a reporter,
I'm going to be a reporter
and not a photographer.
And and that chance came and
and I made a career out of it.
So it's all good.
And a darn good one at that,
I might say so myself.
Done hundreds, thousands of
stories perhaps over the years.
Any favorite or favorites that
stick out off the top of your head?
So many I just so many stories you know
I think my favorite stories are the
stories believe it or not that that
we did on on Community involvement
things like 9 Cares Colorado shares
and and and raising money for you
know food banks around the area that
we still do to this day by the way
and those kind of stories it just
community involvement has been so great.
The viewers have been so great we
asked them for money and they give
us money to help our neighbors.
And it's so cool to do stories on that.
But then there have been other
features that I've done.
One of them that I that I put online
is photographer David Lozier.
And I went up to Kersey Co and
we did a story on a guy,
a farmer up there that had all
this land that he wasn't using.
So he built a baseball diamond and
he built it for his son because
his son was a baseball player.
And they and it's beautiful.
It really is. Field of Dreams only.
It's a real thing and and leagues.
In Denver,
wooden bat leagues go up their
high school leagues and and they
play ball up there and it's,
it's still in use to this day.
And we did that story in 2002.
So.
Wow. So yeah, 20 years ago.
And they're still using
it. They're still using it. Yeah.
That's stunning.
That's gotta be so critical.
Different kinds of stories where,
you know, you've been here
for such a long time at that
point that you've kind of seen
those stories kind of morph and
develop over the years as well.
Yeah, tons of stories.
And I think features were always
my favorite story, you know, but,
you know, and then of course.
I've been here so long.
I've seen a lot of news along the way,
and some of it wasn't always so great.
And so the, the, the stories that stick
out in my mind are the Columbine stories.
You know, I mean, when when that happened,
we felt just like the rest of the community.
We didn't really know what
was going on at the time.
And as we learned more information as
Columbine was happening, it was just,
it was horrible information.
And we reacted the same way
everybody else did.
But that was that was a big story
because it was the first big school.
Shooting and everybody thought, well,
we've learned so much from what happened
at Columbine that that you know,
this won't happen again and you know,
sadly it's it's happened dozens
of times since.
So,
yeah, obviously so many sad
stories as well as you mentioned.
I guess one thing that I kind of
asked you a bit more about is
also how much do you anticipate?
I guess maybe looking back over the years,
what's been your favorite part
about working here at 9 news
specifically any specific reason?
Is it, is it the people?
Is there anything that sticks out?
Yeah. Well, obviously it's the people.
I mean it's the people and and I would
say it's the people and the viewers,
you know, and I explained a little bit
about the viewers earlier that that
are always so willing to help us out.
But I have worked with some of the most
talented people in the business at this
station channel nine really is and.
And still is an elite station.
It was when I got here in 1983,
I was so lucky to get this job.
It still is today. I mean they,
they spend a lot of time hiring the best
people and and I've worked with great,
great photographers that, you know,
I do some of these features and
everybody's like, Oh my gosh,
that was such a great feature.
And it's like.
You.
Yeah, the editor made it a great feature.
You know, it wasn't so great on paper,
but it came out looking really good.
What's interesting too is you mentioned
you started as a photographer,
so maybe you have a bit of a special.
A unique appreciation for I think
I did again, there goes to that.
I think I do. Yeah. I think I know
what what photographers go through.
I think when I write, I keep in mind
what's the photographer going through,
what what shots would this photographer
think I should use that sort of thing.
So I think, I think you're right.
I think that does help and I think
that helps any, any writer in this,
in this visual business.
But yeah, I mean writers, producers,
directors, you know, audio engineers.
Lighting people.
I mean, I've just.
I've, I've worked with the best
in the business and it's just
been such a pleasure.
Well,
and now you get to kind of pick
and choose your role as well, too.
Yeah. Do some more positive stories.
Jenna Lion offered me that gig.
And I'm like, yeah,
I'll do that. And I don't have to wake up
at 2:00 AM and I don't have to wake up.
Yeah, I'll do that. That's awesome.
Well, Gary, congratulations, man.
Well done. On appreciated. Nine years. It's
been great working with you.
Hasn't been that long.
Hasn't been you know,
39 years, but it's been fun
year and. Half of those 39, but yeah.
Pleasure, Gary, and best of luck in
retirement. Thanks, Chris. Appreciate it.