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Anchor Bill Ratliff leaving News Channel 8 this week

News Channel 8 photo

Among the high points Ratliff especially relishes from his long career was a 12-year stint as the station's chief political reporter.

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 21, 2009

TAMPA - One thing Bill Ratliff won't miss about anchoring the morning shift at WFLA, Channel 8: getting up at 1 a.m. to get ready for work.

"It changes your whole body clock, so I'm looking forward to sleeping in and staying up late," says Ratliff, who signs off the News Channel 8 morning newscast on Thursday.

After 27 years at the NBC affiliate, the 60-year-old anchor is taking an early retirement from WFLA. He plans to take a year off before deciding what to do next in his career.

"It's been a wonderful ride here, and I've enjoyed it, but I'm ready for a change," says Ratliff, who decided to pass on signing a new short-term contract for reduced pay.

"We're going to miss him; mornings won't be the same," says his longtime co-anchor, Gayle Guyardo.

"I can't talk about it without breaking up; it's the end of an era," she adds, fighting back tears. "He is such a part of the identity of Channel 8, and I've learned so much from him about news."

Ratliff says he also learned from Guyardo in the 16 years they've worked together.

"She showed me how to loosen up and be myself on the air," he says, "The morning newscasts are different from others because you share an intimacy with the viewers."

Ratliff, who grew up in Cincinnati, was a rising star when he came to Tampa in March 1982.

He had worked as an anchor and reporter in Lexington, Ky., and Detroit. In Dallas, he was a "PM Magazine" host and then news anchor. He says "PM Magazine" taught him the art of storytelling.

"I left WFAA, arguably one of the best TV stations in the country at the time, to become the primary news anchor on the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts at Channel 8," he says. "I had never worked in Florida, but I had been to Clearwater as a child on family vacations."

Ratliff was a hard-driving, serious newsman who wanted to be a leader in the newsroom.

WFLA went through a lot of internal turmoil and numerous news directors in the 1980s during a ratings battle with rival WTVT, Channel 13.

Ratliff first teamed with Suzanne Bates, who left the station in the summer of 1984, and then with now-retired anchor Bob Hite. "The station thought that a two-man team would be the perfect answer to the male-dominated newscasts on WTVT, which featured Hugh Smith, Andy Hardy and Roy Leep," Ratliff says. "They owned the market."

But it didn't work. "We had so much fun, too much fun probably, because it was a disaster," Ratliff says. "By January of '85, the station decided to bring a woman back to the newscast."

The job went to Gayle Sierens. Hite became her co-anchor. Ratliff says that prompted the most adult decision of his life.

"Instead of getting mad and leaving, I decided to stay and stop chasing the golden ring of being the main anchor," he says. "I wanted to do good journalism and contribute to the team effort."

Turned down other offers

He and his wife, Linda, had fallen in love with Tampa. Now married 34 years, they raised their two children on Davis Islands. Shannon, 32, and Chet, 28, both went to Florida State University and earned MBA degrees from the University of Tampa. Shannon, who works for the federal government in Washington, D.C., is expecting her first child in October. Chet, who works for a Tampa investment firm, is engaged to be married in January.

Over the years, Ratliff has turned down a number of job offers from other TV stations and the broadcast networks. "The station has always treated me well," he says.

He has seen news directors and station managers come and go. He credits former news director Dan Bradley with making him feel that he was a valuable part of the news team. "We go back a long way, because Dan was a photographer when I started here, and he became a good friend, too," Ratliff says.

Bradley, now with WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio, says Ratliff was "always my old reliable when it came to continuous coverage and sitting on the anchor desk for long periods. He was well-read and always informed and loved being a key part of our election coverage."

Among the high points Ratliff especially relishes from his long career was a 12-year stint as the station's chief political reporter.

"It was a dream job, because I enjoy covering politics," he says.

He also recalls anchoring during hurricanes, including a 60-hour stint during Hurricane Elena in 1985. He co-anchored the station's coverage of the Gasparilla Parade for 25 years, and he has been a part of the station's annual telethon for All Children's Hospital.

'The Odd Couple'

Ratliff says he found his niche on morning newscasts 22 years ago; five years later, the winning Guyardo-Ratliff team was created. The two made "News Channel 8 Today" the top-rated morning newscast.

"We could not be more opposite in our personalities," says Guyardo. "We are like that old TV show, 'The Odd Couple.' Bill is meticulous and even has his paper clips organized, while my desk looks like a bomb went off. He comes in early, and I show up just in time to go on the air.

"Working with him has been a blessing, and I would not be where I am today without him," she says.

Next week, Guyardo will be the solo anchor with meteorologist Jennifer Hill and TBO Traffic's Alicia Roberts.

"It's going to be tough for us, because this is like closing a chapter, and what has worked with viewers has been the magic of our friendship," Guyardo says. "Jen and Alicia are still like my sisters, but Bill was our rock."

She says losing him is almost as traumatic as the death of morning meteorologist John Winter, 39, who committed suicide in April 2007.

"In many ways we are still grieving over the loss of John, who was a part of our team for so long," Ratliff says. "He was very talented and well-liked."

Ratliff's departure comes as the television industry is facing numerous challenges, including declining advertising revenue. Corporations such as Media General - which owns WFLA, The Tampa Tribune and TBO.com - have been cutting costs. WFLA, for example, has discontinued the 11 a.m. weekday newscast that Ratliff and Guyardo also anchored.

Channel 8 News Director Don North says management is sorry to see the veteran leave.

"His experience and professionalism helped make WFLA-TV one of the country's great stations."

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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