Robert Burton to Join WJLA

By Kevin Eck 

burton katvKATV weekend sports anchor Robert Burton said goodbye to viewers of the Little Rock, Ark. ABC affiliate Sunday night.

Burton is heading to WJLA in Washington, D.C.

Sports director Steve Sullivan wrote up a goodbye for Burton on the station’s website.

Advertisement

I’d be lying if I said that Bob got off to a great start at KATV.

Bob joined us in the middle of the 2011 football season.  His first big assignment was the Conway-Cabot football game.  This match-up between two tradition rich programs was supposed to be our main highlight game. If Bob had the final call, we wouldn’t have any highlights of that game on the news that night.

Bob made a rookie mistake.  He went to Conway without a video card, which is a must for getting video.  He didn’t realize he was missing the card, until he got to Conway.   He drove back to Little Rock picked up a card, then headed back to Conway.  I got a call from Bob around 9:30 P.M.  He had some bad news.  He said he wasn’t going to be back in time to get the highlights on.

Bob learned something about me and the TV business that night.

I’m not a sane man on Friday nights. I’ve gotten a little better over the years, but I’m still too intense on game night. They weren’t great highlights, but Bob did get the Conway-Cabot highlights on . I think that night was an eye opener for Bob . He learned about my passion for local sports, and the urgency that’s needed to succeed in a two man sports department.

Fast forward three years, and Bob is now a Friday Night Touchdowns machine. He cranks out fun, informative segments and never misses a deadline. I wish I had his poise under pressure.

Burton started his career at WAND in Decatur, Illinois as an editor in 2010.

Advertisement