 |
| Doug Miller |
After two decades, Miller is leaving.
"Now I know how Biggio felt during his last game," Miller told mikemcguff.com. "That television station on Allen Parkway has been very, very good to me. I was lucky enough to help build one of the nation's most respected local television newsrooms and that'll be in my DNA until the day I die."
While he says he is not retiring, he is taking that TEGNA buyout offer I blogged about several months ago (I hear several of the station's photographers will most likely follow him out the door).
----------------------------
SEE MORE
Watch some of Doug Miller's amazing work during the April 18, 2016 Houston floods
----------------------------
The former Jeopardy! contestant has worked as a police reporter all the way to a newspaper editor during his decades in the Houston news trenches.
At age 16, Miller hosted a "Watergate-era" telephone talk show in El Paso. That led him to the University of Houston, where Miller lived in the dorm down the hall from CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz and prof golfer Fred Couples.
His journalism career continued and led him to the newsrooms of 740 KTRH, United Press International's Houston bureau and the Houston Business Journal. After he rose to the role of managing editor of the HBJ, Miller started filing daily business reports for channel 11's morning newscast. Those appearances led Miller to become a full-time reporter with the station in 1993.
During his KHOU time, Miller has worked as the station's Washington bureau chief where he covered the White House, Capitol Hill and various presidential campaigns. In 2007, Miller traded the streets for a desk in the KHOU newsroom when he was promoted to executive editor. But the call of the streets were too strong. About four years later, Miller returned to reporting.
"One of the moments I'll never forget was waking up in the middle of the night during Tropical Storm Allison and turning in the TV to see our newsroom was flooding," Miller recalled to me. "I knew my car would never make it through the streets. so I started walking to the station. As luck would have it, Jeff McShan happened to drive by in a live truck and picked me up."
I'm sure there are a lot of employers in the Bayou City who will jump at a chance to snatch up Miller, but in the meantime, I bet he will enjoy a lot of time at Minute Maid Park watching his Houston Astros.
"I've got a closet full of rain gear decorated with old KHOU logos," Miller added. "If they need me in a pinch, God help me, I'd probably still meet the live truck halfway."
There will be a retirement party for Miller next week. He says he will be reporting for the station a couple of more weeks.
* This post has been updated with Doug Miller's response about leaving KHOU 11
UPDATE APRIL 21, 2016
Mario Gomez & others to leave KHOU 11
Mayor @SylvesterTurner acknowledges @DougMillerKHOU for years of covering #houcouncil. His last day is Friday. pic.twitter.com/6bQdIgNyjW
— Florian Martin (@Florian_News887) April 20, 2016
RELATED
- Doug Miller channel 11 retirement party photos
- Alice Barr leaves KHOU 11
