During the late 1980s, Scott Swan covered the sports beat for KITV news. Today he is anchoring the news in Indianapolis. This month we look back at Swan’s time spent in Hawaii, a place he has never forgotten.
Swan grew up in Southern California. At age 15 he took a television production class in high school and discovered an instant love for journalism.
"I did the sports and knew that’s what I wanted to be when I grew up," said Swan.
His first job in television started during his senior year at Pepperdine University when he worked as a sports producer for KHJ in Los Angeles. "I went to class during the day and wrote stories and interviewed athletes for KHJ-TV at night," he said.
In 1986, Swan married his high school sweetheart, Janae’, and landed a job as a sports reporter for the ABC affiliate in Palm Springs, Calif.
"The dream of working in Hawaii started during my honeymoon," Swan said. "My wife, Janae’, and I honeymooned at the Intercontinental in Maui and thought working in paradise would be paradise. I sent a few tapes, and Paul (Udell) flew me out for an interview. After a tour of the station and an interview, Paul offered me the job as the weekend sports anchor. I remember racing back to the Ilikai Hotel and celebrating with my wife. That was a great day."
He started working at KITV in 1987 as the weekend sports anchor. "KITV was a good shop. Talented people in every area of the newsroom. Tina Shelton and Dan Cooke were good friends beyond the anchor desk," he said.
In 1989, Swan took over as sports anchor and sports director for KITV when Russell Shimooka departed for a mainland job. Swan said Shimooka mentored him during his first couple of years in Hawaii.
While at KITV, Swan co-anchored with Shelton, Cooke and Dick Allgire, and also worked with Robert Kekaula. Some may remember Kekaula and Swan competing against local viewers in a fun segment called "Games People Play."
"I loved covering UH sports. Football, basketball and Wahine volleyball were my favorites. I always enjoyed interviewing the NFL players at the Pro Bowl and loved covering the Hula Bowl, Hawaiian Open and Triple Crown of Surfing events," said Swan.
He recalls the big football game when UH defeated rival Brigham Young University in 1989. "A huge win," he said.
Being able to live and work in Hawaii was special for Swan. "I loved living in Hawaii. I spent mornings on the beach and then worked afternoons and evenings. All of a sudden friends and family had a reason to visit. Plus, when you can wear an aloha shirt, shorts and interview athletes in paradise, that’s an ideal job," he said.
In 1990, Swan returned to California and worked with the Walt Disney Co. as a news reporter and video publicist at Disneyland. He spent five years there before landing a job as a news reporter and anchor at WISH, the CBS affiliate in Indianapolis. The transition from sports to news worked well for him.
"I discovered my writing was better suited for news than sports. I loved telling human-interest stories," he said. While working in Indianapolis since 1995, Swan has won numerous regional Emmys and Indiana Associated Press honors, as well as a national Edward R. Murrow Award.
Since 2002 he has been working as an anchor for WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis. (During the mid-1970s, Udell — who hired Swan at KITV — anchored the news at the same station.)
During this past decade, Swan covered every winter and summer Olympic Games, doing stories on the athletes as well as human-interest pieces from the host cities around the world. "I’ve been blessed to travel the world in a profession that I wanted when I was 15 years old. I’m living out my childhood dream," said Swan.
While he enjoys living and working in Indianapolis, Hawaii will always remain a special place for him.
"While I love my current job and the opportunities to travel the world for stories, I always look back on my three years in Hawaii with fond memories. Hawaii is the most beautiful place in the world, with viewers who were kind enough to allow me into their homes every night on the newscast," said Swan.
A.J. McWhorter, a collector of film and videotape cataloging Hawaii’s TV history, has worked as a producer, writer and researcher for both local and national media. Email him at flashback@hawaii.rr.com.
