Courier-Journal
After 32 years in broadcasting, nearly 22 of them at WAVE-3, award-winning anchor Jackie Hays announced her retirement Tuesday.
Her last day on the air is expected to be in mid-December.
“I’ve been talking about retirement for the last two contracts and I’m very excited,” Hays said. “But it’s hard leaving something that you love.”
Hays co-anchors the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts on WAVE and has long-time Kentucky roots. A graduate of Murray State University, she started her professional career at WPSD-TV in Paducah, moved to Louisville and WHAS-TV in 1980, and spent five years there before moving to Philadelphia, the nation’s fourth-largest TV market.
A veteran reporter who has interviewed two presidents–she lunched with President Ronald Reagan–Hays reported live from the bombing scene at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and co-anchored coverage of the Kentucky Derby 25 times. More…