Local Community Advertising
"It was hard to believe," said 61-year-old Rick Webber about the last time the on-air light went dark. "It's really difficult for me to believe 'that was that.'"
Webber was an anchor at Global Okanagan, which used to be known as CHBC, for 27 years.
When word of his pending retirement first came out, he was amazed at how many people reached out to him, like a family member about to leave.
"It was lovely, but it only made it harder, because it made me feel I'm letting them down somehow."
Before coming to Kelowna to anchor the news, Webber worked in places like Terrace and Powell River. The beginnings of his broadcasting career going as far back as 1976 when he did some DJ work while still in high school in Prince Edward Island.
Now he has to sort out not just what he's going to do next, but what also seems to be a bit of an identity crisis.
"This is the kind of job that takes over a lot of your life, a lot of your personality, a lot of the sense of who you are, gets tied up with your job."
In the short time that he's been away from the microphone, Webber still finds himself seeing stories to cover.
"It's going to be a tough thing to let go of," he said. "I'm not sure if I should ignore the news or continue to try to be a part of it somehow."
Still, Webber feels it was the right time to step aside and make room for people with different skill sets.
"The way things are changing so fast in the media right now, almost any job now, that got posted in the newsroom, I'm not qualified for," he laughed.
For reporters in the field, there has been a transition from reporter and camera person crews to video journalists who work alone.
"The reporters who are left, they have to do it all. They go out, they shoot their own story with their own camera, they're writing the story, they're editing their own story on a laptop in the field, they're sending it back all ready to broadcast."
Webber said he worries about the accuracy on news sites today and the changing ideas about what news is.
"They're taking news releases that are being sent out, all you need to do now to get a news story is send out a news release with a photograph and blam! It's out there," he said. "No re-writing, no checking the facts, no going back and doing an interview, no asking the other side of the story, and that's called news now."
One possibility, for Webber's future, is a run at city council.
"That might be a way," he said, "to stay involved in the community and use my communication skills to get information out to the public."
Local Community Advertising