After 51 years, KTTC cameraman Chuck Sibley calls it a career
Apr. 26—ROCHSTER — Rochester's best-known, longest-working newsman is hanging up his camera.
Chuck Sibley is retiring after 51 years in the KTTC news business, the news operation announced April 26, 2024. It's the second major departure for the local news operation. Last month,
KTTC anchorman Tom Overlie
said he was "stepping back" from the Rochester NBC affiliate after 24 years.
Sibley was that rare phenomenon: Although he worked behind the scenes as a cameraman, he acquired a big-time local personality through his graciousness, professionalism, reputation for sensitivity and longevity. He also mentored hundreds, if not thousands, of young TV reporters.
In an interview with the Post Bulletin in August 2022, Sibley explained
why he had worked as a photographer and video cameraman for half a century.
"I'm kind of a hometown guy," Sibley said. "Most of my family lives around here. And I've gotten to know southeastern Minnesota, northern Iowa and western Wisconsin a hundred times better because of my job."
Another factor was health related. Sibley was
diagnosed with skin cancer
in 1979. Staying in Rochester kept him close to Mayo Clinic, where he got regular check-ups.
Sibley covered thousands of news and human interest stories during his 51-year tenure. None was probably bigger than the flood of 1978. It led to a massive $114 million flood control project being built that transformed the city. He also counted as one of his favorite news stories meeting the "King of Gopher Trappers," an 85-year-old man who had trapped more than 15,000 gophers.
"Just the experiences you have," Sibley said in explaining why he liked the job so much. "Whether it's breaking news, feature stories or all of the above, it's the experiences you have on a daily basis. And then delivering the goods. You got to deliver the goods."
A hometown-boy through and through, Sibley attended St. John's School and graduated from Lourdes High School. And then, as Sibley liked to say, he went out east: to Rochester and Community and Technical College. Sibley won numerous awards for his reporting work during those 51 years.
Sibley's advice to young reporters, of which there were thousands, could be summed up simply as "keep your eyes focused on what you're doing in this market." Your long-range goals might include working at the national level, but the best way of getting there is telling the local stories.
"And then you'll get a good resume," he said.
In the interview with the PB, Sibley speculated that he would remain working for another year or two. People were always asking him when he was going to retire.
"I got to figure out a reason to get up in the morning," Sibley said.
