David Henry Ward (born May 6, 1939 in

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...

) is a broadcast journalist in Houston, Texas. He was an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

of the weekday 6:00 pm newscast on

KTRK-TV KTRK-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by the ABC network via its ABC Owned Television Stations division, and maintains studio facilities on Bissonnet Street in Houston's Upper ...

's ''

Eyewitness News ''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action videos, instead of the older ,"man-on-camera" style of newscast, and is most prominently featured in the New York City metropolitan area. Hi ...

'' in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

for more than 50 years. He joined KTRK-TV in 1966 as

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

and was promoted to his final position as weekday evening anchor in 1968, which he held until 2017.

Career

Ward began his career at KGKB radio while attending

Tyler Junior College Tyler Junior College (TJC) is a public community college in Tyler, Texas. It is one of the largest community colleges in the state, with an enrollment of more than 12,000 credit students and an additional 20,000 continuing education enrollments a ...

(class of 1960). Three years later, he began working at

WACO-FM WACO-FM (99.9 Hertz, MHz, "WACO 100") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Waco, Texas. It airs a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are located on West Highway 6 in Southwest Waco. ...

as a staff announcer. Later in 1963, Ward became the first full-time reporter at KNUZ radio, located in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. In 1966, he was hired on the spot at KTRK-TV: He was hired as an on the street reporter and photographer in November 1966 and in 1967 was assigned to anchor KTRK's 7 a.m. newscast and a year later, he was promoted to co-anchor of the weekday 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts. In December 2014, Ward announced he was leaving the weeknight 10 p.m. broadcast, but would still continue to co-anchor the weekday 6 p.m. newscast with Gina Gaston. In June 2016, Ward was recognized by the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for having the longest tenure of any news anchor in the world at the same station in the same market. On August 4, 2016, Ward announced on the 6 p.m. news that he would be leaving KTRK at the end of the year. Soon after, Ward told the

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

he was leaving against his will and did not want to retire, even after multiple falls in the newsroom left his health capricious. Ultimately, the station and Ward agreed to not renew his contract and that he would leave in December 2016. Prior to that date, another health scare delayed his departure. Ward underwent an open heart surgery in December, and the managers at the station decided to let Ward have a final newscast appearance on May 2, 2017. Ward, a personal friend of Marvin Zindler, helped Zindler obtain his position at Channel 13, by urging the station to hire him after Zindler had been fired from his job at the sheriff's department. In May 2019, Ward published his memoir, “Good Evening, Friends.” The title reflects the salutation he used to begin each newscast at KTRK. The City of Houston honored Ward's 50 years at KTRK with an honorary street sign outside the ABC 13 studios. The marker says "Honorary Dave Ward Place."

Positions and achievements

In addition to his television and radio career, he has played an active role in establishing Houston

Crime Stoppers Crime Stoppers or Crimestoppers is a community program that assists people in providing anonymous information about criminal activity. Often managed by non-profit groups or the police, it operates separately from the emergency telephone number s ...

, currently serving as President of the local Easter Seals Society, and chairing the Public Affairs Advisory Board of the Houston Business Council.

Video

References

External links

Dave Ward official site

Biography by ABC 13

Biography by H Texas magazine

Ward's posthumous report on Marvin Zindler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Dave 1939 births Living people American television journalists Television anchors from Houston Journalists from Houston Tyler Junior College alumni Writers from Dallas American male journalists People from Huntsville, Texas