Bob opsahl biography

Bob Opsahl, an Orlando institution as WFTV-Channel 9 anchor since the 1980s, will retire in May, he announced Wednesday.

“I’m like an aging grandpa around here, so it’s probably time to move on,” Opsahl said as the 6 p.m. news ended. “I can’t believe how quickly nearly 38 years went by.”

He said he wanted to retire while he was healthy enough to enjoy life outside work.

Opsahl, 68, has been the face of the ABC affiliate and a steady professional as the business went through sweeping changes.

“I am so grateful to you folks, our viewers, who have been watching all these years, because your faithful viewing habits are what kept WFTV renewing my contract. Thank you,” Opsahl said.

He said he was leaving WFTV viewers “in the very capable hands” of Greg Warmoth, Martha Sugalski, Tom Terry and “all the other members of this magnificent team we call Eyewitness News.”

Opsahl will leave May 27 — after the May ratings period. He has helped keep WFTV a ratings leader through the years.

Starting May 30, Warmoth replaces Opsahl and anchors with Sugalski at 5 and 6 p.m. Warmoth and Sugalski also anchor at 11 p.m.

Jorge Estevez replaces Warmoth and anchors with Vanessa Echols at 4 p.m. He continues as co-anchor at 10 p.m. on sister station WRDQ-Channel 27.

“Bob Opsahl is synonymous with journalistic excellence,” Paul Curran, general manager of WFTV and WRDQ, said in a statement. “His steady hand in keeping the viewers of Central Florida informed and reassured for almost four decades will be his greatest legacy.”

WFTV news director Matt Parcell called Opsahl “an invaluable leader, coach and friend to everyone in the newsroom.”

Opsahl joined WFTV-Channel 9 in 1978 as a general assignment reporter, started anchoring on weekends in 1980 and later graduated to the marquee newscasts.

He stopped anchoring the 11 p.m. newscast in 2011 but continues in that r

If you’ve turned on local news at any point during the past, oh, 40 years, chances are you know WFTV’s Bob Opsahl. Having first moved to Orlando in 1968—beating Walt Disney World by a few years—he was hired as a reporter for the station in 1978 and started anchoring the news desk not too long after, providing “coverage you can count on” (per WFTV’s slogan) ever since. As a result, he’s had a unique bird’s-eye view of Greater Orlando as it evolved from its orange-grove past into its entertainment- and tech-focused present. We were lucky enough to speak with Opsahl about his insight and experience shortly before his final pre-retirement broadcast on May 25.

Editor’s Note: The print edition of this article stated that Opsahl’s last day on the job would be May 27, which was his originally announced retirement date. That date was moved up to May 25 after this issue had gone to press.

OFM: With nearly 40 years of reporter and anchor experience, you’ve probably covered more news than most people read or watch in a lifetime. What do you consider to be some of the most memorable stories you’ve covered in your career, either good or bad?

BO: Unfortunately, the most memorable stories would include bad news: both space shuttle disasters, the wildfires of 1998, and the multiple hurricanes of 2004 (especially Charlie). But the stories I like to remember are the positive, exciting ones that got my adrenaline pumping. Like the very first space shuttle launch. I had never seen or heard or felt anything like that before, and it thrilled me to the bone. … Becoming a reporter afforded me opportunities to see and do things I couldn’t possibly have done otherwise, and I am profoundly grateful.

OFM: Anything you wish you’d known on day one that you know now?

BO: I wish I’d known more about government and politics, so I could have asked better questions of our local leaders. And I wish I had been less

Anchor Bob Opsahl's departure from WFTV-Channel 9 ends a storiedOrlando TV career, but not the good feelings he inspired or the steady example he set.

“He's a nice guy to invite in your house,” said John Tassie, 72, who has watched Opsahl for 20 years. Tassie has talked to Opsahl at the YMCA, where they both work out.

“I once asked if it was his job to report the news or make the news,” said Tassie of Orlando.“He was very much just report the news.”

Opsahl, 68, is the news this week as he retires Wednesday from the ABC affiliate after nearly 38 years. He has been a constant as the face of WFTV and the longest-serving anchor in Orlando TV history.

There's no difference between Opsahl on the air and off, friends say.

He agrees. “I can't imagine putting on some persona when I'm on the air that I shed as soon as I leave the set,” Opsahl said. “That makes no sense to me, and I've never been able to do anything like that. So I don't.”

What he did, however, was attract viewers year after year and impress his colleagues. “He was the Tom Brokaw of Orlando,” said Chris Schmidt, a former news director at WFTV. “Just like Brokaw, he's a humble man. He spoke with viewers instead of at them.”

News 13 anchor Marla Weech sat next to Opsahl on the WFTV anchor desk for nearly 20 years. “Even though he had incredible talent, he never had the big ego to go along with it,” she said. “He was always an easygoing, regular guy.”

WFTV news director Matt Parcell marvels at Opsahl's run. “To stay in one place is really remarkable,” said Parcell, whose father was a TV journalist. “We moved all the time.”

Opsahl knew that feeling. “I grew up in an Air Force family,” he said. “We'd get transferred, and I'd leave all my friends behind and I'd never see them again. When I had a chance to plant roots and stay in one place, I thought, ‘Yeah, this is it. This is where I want to be.'”

His family settled in Central Florida in 1968. He became interested in communications during four years i

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