WDIV's Devin Scillian
Anchor Devin Scillian, a Kansas native who is leaving WDIV in December after 30 years on the job, tells the Detroit News that he and his wife Corey had no plans to stay in Detroit as long as they did.
In an interview with Detroit News Editorial Page Editor Nolan Finley,
Corey and I were shocked that we kept staying. We had lots of chances to leave. But we couldn't figure out how to raise a family in New York the way we wanted to raise a family. And I had this really easy commute where I don't even get on a highway when I come to work. And I'm here in less than 20 minutes. I can't duplicate that anywhere. It's an unbelievable news town. And not just what happens here, but how much people care here. How are we in a town that still has two newspapers? People still really care about what's going on and still consume news. I've fallen not just for Detroit, but for Michigan.
Scillian, 61, talks about other subjects as well including the state of journalism and age.
It's funny, I used to say when I was young I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a 60-year-old anchorman. Well, I blew past that stop sign. Hitting 60 seems like a landmark birthday. It did dawn on me about a year ago that I was getting to be about the age that (longtime WDIV anchor) Mort Crim was when I got here to replace him.
In is announcement last week of his departure, he wrote:
Part of getting older is, of course, asking, “Where has the time gone?” I’m certainly wondering that now as my last WDIV newscast is on the calendar. And as we draw closer to what will be my 30th America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I am astonished at the passage of three decades in what feels like the snap of my fingers. But it recently dawned on me that I am now almost exactly the age that Mort Crim was when I came to Detroit to try to follow in his legendary footsteps. And I think that struck me as a sign that it might be time to move along. And so, Dec. 13 will mark my last newscast at this wonderful and extraordinary television station.
To read the full Detroit News interview click here.
