A native of the Quad Cities, Kris Ketz got his start in broadcast journalism there. The son of legendary newsman Jim King, Kris has an outstanding career of his own. Paul Yeager and I talked to Kris for the Archives of Iowa Broadcasting Oral History Project. Here are some excerpts from that conversation. Watch the full interview here.
How did you get your start in broadcasting? I was still a senior in high school when I was hired to read weekend news at what was then WQUA radio in Moline. This would have been the summer of 1977. We had a news department that was a six person staff. My radio experience, I think, has made me a much better person to do television. I always thought if I just kept my mouth shut and watched how these people worked, I might learn something and here I am about to finish my 41st year at KMBC television in Kansas City. And I’ll be here for at least another three more.
Did being Jim King’s son help you make the jump from radio to WQAD-TV? There was no question about it. I was lucky enough to realize that I was given an advantage. Being Jim King’s son opened doors that never would have happened otherwise.
Then you made a big jump in market size, going to KMBC in Kansas City from WQAD. How did that come about? Sheer luck. The news director at the time at WQAD left and came to KMBC here in Kansas City, a guy named Pat McCarthy. And what was ironic about that time was Pat and I weren’t really speaking to each other for about the last four or five months of my time at WQAD. We had gotten kind of sideways. But Pat gets the job, comes to Kansas City and literally about a month or two later calls and says, listen, we’re changing things down here in Kansas City. I’d like to offer you a job.’
What was one of your most memorable stories at KMBC? It was a story about two families. One family had lost their mid-twenties daughter in a car crash. The second family had a mom who needed a heart transplant. And we happened to be there the first time that the heart donor’s mom met the recipient. The meeting was just incredible. I remember looking at Greg as he was recording all of this on video, and he started tearing up and I started tearing up. I remember whispering into Greg’s ear, ‘this will be a great story if I don’t screw it up.’
Broadcast journalism is a family tradition, isn’t it? Your dad, Jim King, you, and now your son Jonathan Ketz. Tell us how he’s doing. His first television station out of the University of Missouri School of Journalism was at WQAD in Moline. They actually made him an offer right after he graduated a semester early from the University of Missouri. He spent nine wonderful years there. But he always wanted to come back to Kansas City because this was home. And now he’s at Fox for our competitor across the street. He’s doing terrific work. He really is.
You anchored a couple of times at WQAD with your dad Jim King but in 1998 there was a special night at KMBC for the two of you. I remember him (the news director) calling me into his office and he said, ‘Do you think your dad would come down here and anchor a Father’s Day 10:00 newscast on a Sunday night with you?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know. I’ll ask him.’ Sure enough, Dad said yes. That was a night I knew was going to be fun, but I had no idea how much fun it would be. It was one of the great nights in our life.
One last question, Kris. What would you hope that your legacy would be when people think of you after you’ve retired? I think I would want people to say that ‘he did it the right way, that he did it honestly, that he tried to tell all sides of a story, and that hopefully he just didn’t screw it up.’