KWQC anchor Dustin Nolan gave an emotional on-air goodbye to his Quad Cities audience on Friday, June 19, after he announced that he is leaving the news industry entirely.
“You’ve trusted me these past few years to bring you the news in the morning. I promise you I’ve given you everything I have,” Nolan said during his last newscast. “I’ve never tried to be perfect or what many think a newsman is supposed to be, but I’ve always done my best to be transparent.”
Nolan anchored the station’s morning newscast with his co-host and spouse, Jenna Jackson. He’s worked at KWQC since 2022 after stints at two other Quad Cities stations, WQAD and WHBF.
In his farewell, Nolan also said that he believes that “we, as a local news station, have to be more than trends or sanitized news because it makes people feel uncomfortable. That’s why the facts matter and that’s why we do what we do here.”
“We have to take people out of their bubbles and comfort zones and make them think about the world we all live in,” Nolan said.
Iowa anchor says on-air goodbye wasn’t ‘blasting’ station
After various media outlets picked up the story, Nolan made a Facebook post clarifying the circumstances of his departure on Monday, June 22. He did not quit on-air, nor was he slamming the news industry for producing “sanitized” news.
His message is being “twisted to fit whatever ideology people want,” Nolan wrote.
Nolan said that he made the decision to leave on his own months ago.
He wrapped up his Friday newscast by saying his departure is a “bittersweet goodbye.” Fighting back tears, he thanked staff members and producers for being wonderful people, “being great professionals, and more importantly, great people.”
Lucia Cheng is a service and trending reporter at the Des Moines Register. Contact her at lcheng@gannett.com or 515-284-8132.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa anchor Dustin Nolan wasn’t ‘blasting’ station in tearful goodbye
Reporting by Lucia Cheng, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By Lucia Cheng, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
