KSDK anchor Mike Bush told staff this morning that he will be retiring from the station next year after a 40-year run.
Coworker Frank Cusumano then broke the news to the wider public on The Frank & Jill Show, which he co-hosts with Jill Farmer each morning on KTRS 550 AM, saying Bush had given him permission to share the news with his listeners. Cusumano described Bush being motivated “to take a step back and enjoy the rest of his life.” He added: “You put the whole package together, I don’t know that anyone’s ever been better.”
Get a fresh take on the day’s top news
Subscribe to the St. Louis Daily newsletter for a smart, succinct guide to local news from award-winning journalists Sarah Fenske and Ryan Krull.
Both Farmer and Cusumano praised the adroitness with which Bush made the transition from sports to news. The longtime anchor is widely respected within the industry and by staff members for his professionalism.
Bush made the announcement to staff via email Friday morning. It had become increasingly widely known within the station that his departure was in the near future, but today’s announcement set his official last day at KSDK in August, 41 years and one month after he first joined the station.
In his email, he referenced how he felt fortunate he’d been able to center kindness in his reporting, and that he always strove to make other people—not himself—the center of his work.
Bush is only the most recent high-profile name to depart St. Louis’ NBC affiliate, but his long goodbye is much different than that experienced by Rene Knott (who confirmed to SLM that he resigned abruptly after facing questions from HR) and meteorologist Anthony Slaughter (who last year said he had been abruptly fired). He also joins longtime anchor Kay Quinn, who left the station in June after 36 years in a more typical farewell along the lines of what is expected for Bush, and longtime news director (and former anchor) Art Holliday, who had his planned retirement last summer (but had to briefly prolong it to fill in after another departure).
Some staffers have been increasingly frustrated by the demands of streaming hours of material on top of what is presented on the airwaves each day, part of a strategy to make the station’s app an in-demand news source as TV viewership drops.
After August, there is little reason to expect Bush to embark on any sort of social media second act like his fellow longtime newsman Elliott Davis of KTVI or former KSDK colleague Knott.
