Alaska News

Queens of the screen

Channel 2 anchor and assistant news director Maria Downey had a rough start to her broadcast journalism career in Anchorage. After graduating from the University of Florida, Downey came to Alaska, thinking her stay would be short. But after settling in and deciding to stay, Downey's first on-air job was cut short when her morning news show was canceled after a four-and-a-half-year run. KTUU meteorologist Jackie Purcell had to scrap for an internship at the station, working to become a full-fledged reporter and even quitting before finding her place in front of the weather screen. But almost three decades and more than 9,500 broadcasts later, the women may well be the best-known people who live in the state year-round.

A lot has changed in broadcast journalism since the mid-1980s. Cameras are smaller while television sets have grown into wall-swallowing behemoths. The Internet and a forever-increasing menagerie of cable channels have forever changed the landscape of television news. The evening news no longer draws a nightly gathering of families, sitting in front of their home's only television to get a sense of what's happening in the world around them. We are, by any measure, a long way from the heydays of Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite and Barbara Walters.

But in an industry known for turmoil, changing faces and a push toward younger reporters, anchors and meteorologists, Maria and Jackie remain integral to the sustained success of KTUU, whose newscast has dominated the Anchorage market – and reaches hundreds of thousands of viewers across Alaska -- for more than 28 years. Unlike what is happening in many other U.S. television news markets, neither Downey, 55, nor Purcell, 53, said they felt pressured to leave their on-air jobs as they aged. Earlier this year, another veteran, Sheila Balistreri, retired after running KTUU's "Morning Edition" newscast since 1998.

"I think we are lucky to be in a market where people value the experience and that we are still around for a reason," Downey said.

Ask any KTUU journalist, van operator or producer what question they're asked most frequently. "Where are Maria and Jackie, and what are they really like?" said KTUU "Late Edition" anchor and senior reporter Rebecca Palsha.

Palsha said Downey and Purcell's real impact is the way they've handled themselves in such a high-profile and stressful career -- one that doesn't always allow women to age gracefully.

"It's a hard field and it's a hard field for women to stay permanently in -- and they have just continued to be really graceful and that's something I focus on is remaining graceful and on top of your field and not getting left behind," Palsha said.

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Serendipity and persistence

Downey began her KTUU career after her morning show at ABC affiliate KIMO (now called KYUR) got axed. But the sudden end of Downey's first Alaska TV job in 1985 actually helped ensure her lasting impact on Alaska media.

"The day it was canceled ... I got a call from (former KTUU news director) John Larson. He called and said, 'Hey, we really want you to come over,'" Downey said.

Downey quickly helped lead KTUU to the top of the ratings, where it has remained for all but three months of her career at the Anchorage television station.

"We used to joke that ours was a TV marriage," said former KTUU news director and Downey's 23-year co-anchor, John Tracy. "I think the genuine affection we had for each other was apparent to the audience. She deserves every bit of success that she's had. If KTUU was a football team, she would be considered the franchise player."

While Downey may be the station's most senior and respected journalist, Jackie Purcell is undoubtedly the station's most recognizable personality. Shane Pike, a former news van operator who set up the station's live shots, used to joke that he tired of constant questions about Purcell. While sitting on the side of the road in a white van emblazoned with the KTUU logo waiting for the evening newscasts, Pike said he wanted to wear a T-shirt that simply said "Jackie Is Not Here."

Purcell's start at KTUU was much different from Downey's, even though the two women started only a few months apart. Purcell, a Bartlett High School graduate, was working for an Anchorage radio station when she began doing the morning cut-ins during NBC's "Today" show. After trying in vain to land a full-time job at KTUU, Purcell quit her job as a part-time newscaster, but never gave up on becoming a full-time broadcast journalist.

"I quit for about a year, and I noticed that (former KIMO and KTUU weatherman) Cary Carrigan was doing the weather seven days a week," Purcell said. "So I thought, you know, 'I wonder why he is doing the weather seven days a week.' They obviously don't have anybody to do it on the weekend."

Purcell's persistence paid off. She quickly discovered that Carrigan was indeed tired of doing the weather every day. So, he agreed to train her. Purcell eventually became a meteorologist, getting her degree from Mississippi State University while still working at the station. She has remained a staple on Alaska's nightly news scene ever since.

"People should believe in themselves," Purcell said. "And sometimes you don't succeed. Maybe you stumble and fall or don't get the job opportunity that you wanted. Do not let that stop you. You have to have a deep belief in yourself, and you pick yourself up, and dust yourself off, and ask, 'What can I do to be better?'"

Making a mark

Twenty-nine years later, neither Purcell nor Downey entertains any ideas about retiring soon.

"As long as we still enjoy what we are doing and feel there is value in what we are doing, we will keep doing it," Downey said as Purcell nodded in agreement.

During almost three decades on the air, both women have made a big impression on Alaska's journalism and people.

"At home in Bethel around dinnertime, it would be my job to get the salad ready," said current KTUU reporter Samantha Angaiak. "So we would turn the TV volume up really loud, so we could hear Maria and Jackie, and stay connected in that way."

Angaiak said she enjoys working with the women she used to watch on TV as a child, and she hopes to make as lasting a mark on Alaska as they have.

After decades of news and thousands of stories, Downey and Purcell count interviews with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a highlight. They knew former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. And as their fame grew, both began to realize the power and responsibility that comes with being on television.

"When I was still a weekend weather person at Channel 2, and working for a radio station in news, I was at a press conference held by (former Alaska Gov.) Jay Hammond," Purcell said. "And when it was over, I picked up the microphone for the radio station I was working for, and Gov. Hammond was like, 'Well, hello, Jackie.' And I am like, 'Wow, I can't believe he knows my name!'"

"It was a special moment for me, and now as time goes on, if it's a special moment for people when I meet them, well, it's good karma and I want to pass that on," Purcell said.

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But working as an Alaska journalist for decades means that eventually, work and life can collide.

"We are a small market," Downey said. "We know the people we are doing stories on. We have had to cover plane crashes. We have had to do stories where people die: (In) the plane crash with the Air Guard, we knew seven of the eight people. Those are some of the toughest newscasts."

Downey and Purcell agree that one of the keys to their longevity is their dedication to journalistic values.

"Even in this high-tech world, we still hopefully are viewed as someone who can be trusted with integrity, and unbiased reporting," Downey said. "People who really do the old-fashioned type of Murrow reporting: 'Just give me the facts, ma'am, just give me the facts.'"

For Purcell, working in her hometown is a dream. But some people are surprised to learn that she doesn't just do the weather. Purcell's behind-the-scenes role is legendary among KTUU reporters.

"I don't think a lot of people realize this about Jackie, but she is not just a meteorologist," Angaiak said. "She goes through everyone's scripts and she will notice little mistakes," Angaiak said. "She's meticulous in that way and wants everyone to be the best that they can be." Tracy agreed. In a business that relies on words that only anchors and reporters can see, Purcell made sure the station did not lose its grip on the finer points of the English language.

"Jackie served as the grammar police for the newsroom," Tracy said. "There has been many a young journalist who came to realize she knows a lot more about communication than delivering a weather cast."

Behind the scenes

Answers may vary to the all-too-common question "What are Maria and Jackie really like?" But the theme is always the same. With some notable exceptions, they're pretty much the same as on television.

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Downey is a dedicated journalist who once worked an entire day even while going into labor on the air.

"John Tracy was timing my contractions when they got five minutes apart," Downey said. "I really thought I was concentrating well. One would hit while I was reading a story and I would just keep going. But as I look at the tape now, I just have this deer-in-the-headlights look where you can just see that my eyes are popping open."

"So at the end of the newscast I said, 'OK, Ron (Downey's husband), pack the bags. It's time.'"

Four hours later, Downey gave birth to her son, Michael.

As for Purcell, the always-smiling queen of Alaska weather admits she is not all smiles and sunshine off camera.

"She is so much spicier in real life," Palsha said.

"Jackie Purcell on the air is so much nicer," Purcell agreed, as Downey laughed in the background. "I express more of my own opinions or have a little outburst every now and then when I am not on TV."

Both women said that while they usually enjoy the public attention, sometimes celebrity requires a few concessions. On quick weekend trips to the grocery store, both often stay in the car and send their husbands inside to shop.

"It's so much faster," Purcell said.

Looking forward

As Purcell and Downey settle into their new studio – a 40,000-square-foot facility on 40th Avenue in Midtown Anchorage – each is looking forward, not back. After working with, learning from and mentoring hundreds of colleagues throughout the years, each is focused on a new generation of KTUU journalists.

"I do this with interns," Downey said. "If they come into my office and say, 'I want to be on TV like you,' (that's the) wrong approach. They have to love to write because that is what my job and our jobs in the newsroom are really like. You have to love to write first and foremost, and the TV is … the second part of the equation when you are on TV at the end of your day."

"You know, I think about that (what kind of advice she would give to aspiring broadcast journalists) and 99 percent of your success or any success is just showing up and being there," Purcell said. "And sometimes being there when you don't really want to or are sick, but I think that longevity just means you care enough to show up at your job all the time."

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Coming to work at the new KTUU studios, complete with the latest camera and lighting technology, may take some getting used to for at least one of the station's iconic newscasters.

"I stand by the statement that nobody needs to see anyone as clear as HD, ever!" Downey said.

Alaska Dispatch News reporter Sean Doogan is a former broadcast journalist who has worked at Alaska television stations KTVF, KTUU and KTVA. He worked with both Maria Downey and Jackie Purcell during his time at KTUU.

Sean Doogan

Sean Doogan is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News.

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