Al Schottelkotte

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Al Schottelkotte,
ca. 1984

Albert J. "Al" Schottelkotte (Pronounced "SHOD-əl-koddy"; March 19, 1927 - December 25, 1996) was a long-time news anchor/reporter for WCPO Television in Cincinnati for twenty-seven years, and later served as President/CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation from 1986 until three weeks before his death in December of 1996.

1 Early Career
2 "The Voice Of Cincinnati"
3 Innovations
4 Did You Know...
5 Personal Life
6 Sources/External Links

[edit] Early Career

Schottelkotte's news career began in 1943 when he was hired on as a copy aide for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Three months later he was promoted to general assignment reporter, making then-16-year old Schottelkotte the youngest journalist at that time for any major American newspaper. After a two-year stint in the military serving in Korea, he began writing his "Talk Of The Town" for the Enquirer, which lasted nine years.

During military career, Schottelkotte lectured on current affairs. It was that experience that offered him the chance in 1953 to anchor an evening newcast on WSAI-FM (now WVMX).

[edit] "The Voice Of Cincinnati"

By 1959, Schottelkotte had joined Scripps-Howard's WCPO Television, anchoring the 11 p.m. newscast. For a time, he continued to write for the Enquirer, but by 1961 he had abandoned print journalism to devote all his energies to television.

Schottelkotte's tireless work ethic, paired with his terse and prudent on-air delivery made him synonymous with Cincinnati television news, and easily earned him the nickname "The Voice Of Cincinnati". His newscasts consistently led in the TV ratings from 1960 to 1982, with shares sometimes leading all of the competing Cincinnati newscasts combined.

Over time, he took to beginning each newscast with a precis of the day's headlines, finishing his overview with "Details on these in a minute.. Elsewhere...", and then signing off with his trademark ending: "Until tomorrow, may it all be good news to you,".

[edit] Innovations

A 1981 TV Guide ad for
"The Channel 9 Newsbird"

Schottelkotte contributed to numerous pioneering facets of local news:

He expanded WCPO's newscasts to a half hour, and created newscast slots at 6 p.m. and an unprecedented noon time newscast, which he anchored until 1967.
He relied heavily on visuals to illustrate his stories, and through his staff had acquired a library of over 50,000 slides of noted personalities and local landmarks. (Ted Turner later took a page or two from Schottelkotte's approach when he launched CNN.)
By 1967 he was made general manager of Scripps Howard's fledgeling news division. Under his management, WCPO had obtained one of the first news helicopters in the nation (The "Channel 9 Newsbird" was one of the first to broadcast live transmissions while in flight).
He was also credited with creating several local news and sports-oriented shows.
He also originated the "Spotlight Report" on radio in 1953, and continued it until he ended his broadcast career in 1994.

[edit] Did You Know...

For years Schottelkotte, a workaholic, anchored the news six days a week (Sunday through Friday), doing the noon, 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts, making him far and away the most visible of all news anchors in Cincinnati.
Schottelkotte played himself in a 1966 episode of Gilligan's Island
During a newscast in 1977, an intruder barged into the studio shouting as Schottelkotte began narrating a film report. He punched the prowler with one hand while muting his microphone with the other so viewers could not hear it. The intruder fled and Schottelkotte, unshaken, continued with the newscast.

[edit] Personal Life

Al and his first wife, Virginia had 12 children, most of whom still live in the Cincinnati area. His second wife, Elaine Green, was at one time a news reporter at WCPO; in 1981 she won a Peabody award for her interview of a gunman during a hostage situation in WCPO's newsroom in October of 1980.

Schottelkotte died on Christmas Day of 1996 at his southeastern Indiana home after a two-year struggle with cancer.