Hey Ace: You seem like a guy who knows what’s up with local TV. What ever happened to NBC Channel 29 morning anchor Bill Duval? Is he coming back or did he split town?—Earl E. Riser
Earl, sometimes it’s hard to keep track of all the anchor-folk at NBC29. They seem to come and go like contestants on “Amer-ican Idol”! Indeed, Ace was shocked when he turned on NBC29’s “News at Sunrise” the morning after Tax Day to find that the affable, bearded, double-breasted-suit-wearing Duval was gone. Why don’t they warn us about these things? Ace was so discombobulated he forgot to file his extension. There was something soothing about the big man, something Ace counted on each morning, like his cup of black coffee and everything bagel. However, if Ace had been watching the morning news cast on Tax Day this year (instead of trying to do his taxes himself with Turbo Tax…. Grrrrr!) he would have seen a tribute to
the veteran news anchor in the last half of the broadcast.
Seems Duval had been planning the move for some time. In fact, NBC29 News Director Neal Bennett told Ace that Duval had been nice enough to stay on much longer than planned so that the station could find a replacement. Bennett told Ace that Duval had moved to Northern Virginia to care for his aging parents and help run the family business. Seems Beth Duffy’s straight man has left broadcasting for good, Earl.
The new guy sitting beside Duffy on the “News at Sunrise” is Shane Edinger (another burly guy, mais sans beard), a veteran broadcaster from the great Pacific Northwest where he last worked for KNDU-TV in Kennewick, Washington. This is Edinger’s first move east of the Rocky Mountains. Ace just hopes Virginia’s August heat doesn’t send him running back!