And then she was done.
After 30 years at WTAE, most of that time as a morning news anchor, Michelle Wright said farewell to viewers Friday just before 7 a.m., capping a sweeps month of on-air walks down memory lane, including a live visit with “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts earlier this week.
“I hope you’re not sick of me at home because the commercials [about my retirement] have been nonstop,” Wright said.
“Typical Michelle,” said meteorologist Ashley Dougherty, “she wants to take the spotlight off herself and put it on someone else.”
In addition to airing one more package on Wright’s more than 30 years at Channel 4, Wright’s former morning co-anchor, Mike Clark, showed up on set to wish her well.
“Everyone here wants to see a grown man cry on TV,” Clark quipped. “We’re gonna miss you terribly, but you are a daily reminder [that] when we see your face, hear your voice, we know the day will be a little brighter. We know what goodness and kindness look like.”
Wright announced her retirement in December and the station announced a change to the morning newscast’s format last week. Traffic reporter Elena LaQuatra will move into Wright’s anchor chair as the station transitions back to a two-anchor format after several years with three news anchors. Ryan Recker will relocate to evenings, anchoring at 7 p.m., reporting for evening newscasts and likely waiting his turn to succeed Clark whenever Clark retires.
“Mike, you will have your moment, too,” morning co-anchor Janelle Hall said.
Wright thanked her on-air co-anchors and spent even more time on “all the behind-the-scenes people,” including those who make sure her microphone is on.
“I’m very thankful and appreciative for those people and especially to all the viewers at home,” Wright said before praising her replacement, LaQuatra. “I want everybody to know I’m leaving the station in good hands. These are the people to trust for accurate information.”
Giving credit where it’s due, WTAE offered a masterclass in how to transition from a retiring long-time news anchor. Sometimes it may have felt like overkill, but I don’t recall such sustained similar efforts by WPXI when David Johnson retired or by KDKA when Stacy Smith retired. But a big part of why WTAE made all the right moves is because Wright was game for them. She long ago mastered social media posts by a news anchor, so this transition played to her strength as she posted a countdown to her retirement to her various social media pages and engaged in “coffee talk” with colleague Ashley Dougherty.
“I’ve been planning for retirement for a long time,” Wright told Dougherty in a “coffee talk” posted Thursday. “It’s been a goal to retire early, so I’ve been working toward this goal. But it happens fast. … It’s surreal to be here at this point in my life. My plan is to travel a lot. There’s a lot of places I want to see. This job is kind of limiting as to when we can take off and how long we can take off. … But it is going to be sad not to be here. I still like my job.”
The only other Pittsburgh broadcaster I’ve seen manage their departure this well — apologies if I missed someone else — was Kristin Emery, who also did a month-long countdown to her final broadcast on social media. Even in that instance, KDKA did not participate in that goodbye to the degree WTAE has, sending Wright off with positive vibes all around.
WBD to Paramount Qs
With Thursday’s news that Netflix bowed out of bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery after Skydance/Paramount raised its bid for WBD, the question becomes: What does this mean for consumers? It seems likely Paramount and HBO Max will merge. If Skydance execs are smart, the HBO name survives since it has more brand equity.
On the news side, will CNN join CBS News under the thumb of Pittsburgh native editor-in-chief Bari Weiss?
No matter which company got WBD, it was bound to be bad news for Hollywood’s creative community, as there’d be one less buyer of projects.
‘Perseverance’ on WQED
Prime Stage Theatre’s 2023 production of “Perseverance,” a 70-minute play about a Holocaust survivor’s post-war healing in 1950s and 1960s Pittsburgh, is now streaming on WQED ’s online platform at https://plus.wqed.org/show/perseverance.
‘Doc Martin’ star on ‘Best Medicine’
Martin Clunes, who played the title character on cozy British drama “Doc Martin,” will guest star as the father of Dr. Martin Best (Josh Charles) on the American remake of “Doc Martin,” Fox’s “Best Medicine,” in an episode airing at 8 p.m. March 3.
Ordered
HBO renewed drama “Industry” for a fifth and final season ahead of its fourth season finale, 8 p.m. March 1, an hour earlier than usual.
Fox renewed Joel McHale’s “Animal Control” for a fifth season.
MGM renewed its “Robin Hood” series for a second season.
Hulu ordered a pilot for director Ryan Coogler’s (“Sinners”) proposed reboot of “The X-Files” starring Danielle Deadwyler (“The Piano Lesson”).
Sony Pictures Television ordered a 24-episode reboot of “Reading Rainbow” hosted by Mychal Threets that will be shopped to a network or streaming service.
Channel surfing
NBC says its coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina drew the best average audience across all platforms for a Winter Games since 2014 and was up 96% from the 2022 Beijing Olympics. … Matt Dillon will star in MGM ’s eight-episode reimagining of classic 1960 Western “The Magnificent Seven,” which begins filming in June in Calgary, Canada. … HBO Max’s “Heated Rivalry” will film its second season this summer for an expected April 2027 release. … “Golden Girls” reruns now air on MeTV (Channel 11.2) 10-11 p.m. weeknights and 6 p.m. and 8-10 p.m. Sunday.