Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA paid tribute to late news director Marty Haag.
Monday, the station unveiled a plaque with an inscription that read in part, “Marty personified journalism in the highest sense and under his leadership, WFAA was recognized with numerous national awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton, the George Foster Peabody Award and a National Emmy.”
According to the station, Haag set the bar high for journalists under his watch between 1973 and 1989. “Yes, he was challenging, and yes, he pushed hard, but that was good; it was good for all of us,” former WFAA reporter Doug Fox said in the station’s story about the former ND. “That made us better — better reporters, better individuals.”
“He was like a second father to me,” said WFAA anchor Gloria Campos. Sports anchor Dale Hansen added, “He was far and away the best I’ve ever worked with.” You can read the entire inscription after the jump.
Here is the inscription on the plaque:
Marty Haag was News Director at WFAA-TV from 1973 to 1989. Marty personified journalism in the highest sense and under his leadership, WFAA was recognized with numerous national awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton, the George Foster Peabody Award and a National Emmy.
Haag and his WFAA colleagues set national standards with local spot news coverage of stories such as the crash of Delta Flight 191 at D/FW International Airport and blockbuster investigative reporting on the savings & loan crisis in Texas. it was Haag’s vision at WFAA that ushered in a long line of broadcast “firsts,” including the nation’s first fully-computerized newsroom, the market’s first helicopter and the first station in Dallas-Fort Worth with live electronic and satellite news gathering capabilities.
In 1989, Haag became Belo’s Senior Vice President/News, responsible for the Company’s television journalism efforts across the country. He retired in 2000, the same year he was recognized with one of broadcasting’s highest honors: The George Foster Peabody Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was described as “an industry icon who helped establish high ethical standards and quality reporting at both local and network news levels.”
On November 11, 2013, the WFAA newsroom was named in honor of our leader, mentor and friend.
Haag died in 2004 at the age of 69.