So Sue Me

For New Yorkers past and present, a bomb dropped today.  News broke that Sue Simmons, longtime local anchorwoman for NBC news (that's channel 4 to those of us in the know), will not have her contract renewed.  At 68 years old, Simmons was quite likely entertaining ideas of retirement anyway.  Still, the apparently unceremonious nature in which the decision was presented is tacky at best.  Sue deserves better.

Sue Simmons was my first.  Newscaster, that is.  Oh, sure, I was aware of Walter Cronkite and other heavy-hitters in the nightly news business.  But Sue Simmons on "Live at Five"--alongside Jack Cafferty (before he went mad) and Al Roker (before he got ridiculously fat and, later, disturbingly thin)--was the first newscaster I actually watched with any regularity.  And, in this business of largely interchangeable talking heads, Sue always brought a distinct personality to the newsroom.  One evening, after a human interest story about some incredibly old man, Jack Cafferty said in his typical smarmy tones, "Wow, 97 years old.  Doesn't he look great?"  Sue looked right at the camera and said, shuddering, "Noooo!"

A "Save Sue Simmons" campaign has already sprung up on the internet, and, if she wants to keep working, I hope she gets the chance to do so.  But if these are the final weeks of Sue's broadcasting career, I'm sure I join a mass of New Yorkers in wishing her the best of luck.  Thanks for making the news interesting.