DENNIS BOUNDS
After a weekend consuming baseball and football, we press on with our series of interviews with Seattle TV and radio greats. I am pleased to help my readers catch up a bit with longtime KING anchor Dennis Bounds. After graduating from the University or North Dakota, he got his start in Fargo and had a few other key stops before he joined KING in 1991. Dennis remained there until the 2016 Tegna corporate buyouts, which saw so many legends of Seattle TV leave for new adventures. He's a true gentleman that I had the pleasure of knowing when I was at NWCN.
Q. Dennis, how is retirement from TV treating you? Miss the job? And what are you working on these days?
It’s hard to believe I’ve been retired for over nine years. The recognition of my time on television is less and less these days, but that’s just fine. I still emcee charity events on occasion and am involved in a mentor program in the Lake Washington school district. I follow mostly national politics given the sad state of affairs the country’s in. I worry a lot for our future.
Q. What's your opinion of the current Seattle local TV news scene and broadcast news, in general?
I can’t really comment on the state of Seattle television news because I watch infrequently, rather, spending my time in the early evening watching sporting events, something I could never do while working. A few years ago I mentored broadcast journalism students at the Murrow Symposium at Washington State University. I am not qualified to do that anymore given the slow movement of journalism from its traditional base to the digital world. Other people will have to figure that out. As for broadcast news in general (national news), more time needs to be devoted to more of the serious problems the country faces.
Q. What stories most impacted you during your amazing career?
There were a number of stories I enjoyed covering in my 40 years in television news. The ones that affected me most were the senseless tragedies we had to cover on a daily basis. I shake my head at man’s inhumanity toward his/her fellow man.
Q. What are your fondest memories of working as a main anchor at K5?
I have great memories at KING working with the many people who inhabited the KING5 newsroom. There wasn’t a bad apple in the bunch, which made going to work a pleasure. And I could always trust my colleagues to do their job well to make our broadcasts factual and interesting to watch.
Q. How do you relax in your personal life?
These days I spend much time attending sporting events (Mariners/Kraken), watching sports on television, reading, exercising (trying to slow down old age) and doting over our 4 year old granddaughter. I am blessed to have all of my three children living in the area. And blessed to have such a loving wife who over the years had to hold down the home front while I went to work at all the odd hours journalists work.
Dennis, thank you for the tight and timely responses. You're missed by many. Good luck with all of your future endeavors.
Great to hear from Dennis again. I still miss him, Jean, Lori, and Jeff on the evening news. They were a truly great home team (pun fully intended).
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it's been 9 years since Dennis has left the station.
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