Mike Shain reflects on 36 years of KFVS12 memories

Veteran broadcaster Mike Shain had planned to make Cape Girardeau a brief stopover during his move up the television career ladder.

But a few years turned into a 36-year career at KFVS12.

"I had other offers," he said inside the Cape Girardeau studio last week. "But this is home.

"This is a part of the country that means a lot to me," he said. "My career is well-suited, and I've enjoyed what I do."

For nearly four decades, Shain has been a mainstay at the television station, covering events and personalities throughout the area. But he knew the run had to end at some point.

That final chapter came to what Shain calls a happy ending Dec. 31, when he hung up the reporter's microphone and chair at the anchor desk for retirement at age 69.

"I prolonged it because I was having too much fun," he said. "There are not too many occupations where you get to have fun. We're lucky because we come to work and never have to do the same thing twice.

"Most people do the same job over and over," he said. "That's why it's work. But with us it's the satisfaction of having a variety each day."

Born in Sikeston, Mo., broadcasting was a part of Shain's life at an early age.

As a high school senior in 1956, he worked for KSIM radio station in the Scott County community. Fourteen years later he began work at another radio station in town, KMPL. He also briefly worked at the Standard newspaper, which has since changed names to the Standard Democrat.

But as the years passed, Shain found the radio business was changing and that he wanted to be in front of the camera.

"When I was in radio at first, we played no more than 15 records from when I signed on until I signed off," Shain said. "By the time I left we were playing more music and reading less news." While he knew the newspaper business wasn't his forte, he said writing at the Standard prepared him for the fast-paced world of television. He entered at KFVS in 1972. He was at the station for two ownership changes. Oscar Hirsch owned the station until 1979, when he sold it to AFLAC Broadcast Group. Eighteen years later KFVS was sold again, along with six other stations, to its current owner, Raycom Media.

Through those years, Shain assumed a variety of roles, including assignment editor, news director, producer, reporter and anchor.

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He said some of his favorite stories included meeting both former president Harry Truman after he had left the Oval Office and former vice president Hubert Humphrey.

Other memorable stories included reviewing area restaurants and talking with Clippard Elementary students the day Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin visited Cape Girardeau in October. Shain said the youngsters were more knowledgeable of certain areas of politics than some adults he knows.

"I've always enjoyed meeting people and hearing their stories," he said. "I believe we should get deeper than the facts, and that's what I've tried to do through telling people's stories."

But it was Shain's ability to tell a story that made him successful, his colleagues said.

"He always had a gift of gab," said KFVS Breakfast Show host Jim Burns, who was hired by Shain as an anchor, reporter and producer in 1979. "He is the classic storyteller and that's why he was such a good reporter."

During his early years at KFVS, Burns and his wife, Lisa, would frequently accompany Shain and his wife, Doris, for late night talks at an ice cream shop. Burns said it was through those conversations that he learned about the area and its history.

Burns said those memories will be missed in the newsroom and by KFVS viewers.

"He provided a sense of calm and security and that wasn't just for us in the newsroom," Burns said. "That was for the viewer as well. They expected Mike to be there when there was something newsworthy."

Mary-Ann Maloney has known Shain ever since she joined the station as a reporter in August 1988. She said his sense of humor will be among the qualities missed.

"He's so fantastic on so many levels," said Maloney, who produced a video tribute to Shain that aired Jan. 15. "He's hysterically funny, kind, helpful and a humble guy."

Now that he's retired, Shain plans to remain in Cape Girardeau and spend more time with his wife, who he said was supportive through his countless early mornings, late nights and weekends at the office and in the field.

Reminiscing on his career, he said he'll miss the untold stories. But most of all, he said he'll miss the viewers and his co-workers, whom he calls his extended family.

"I'll miss the people I work with every day," he said. "My best friends are the people at work because I see them more than anyone else most of the time. I never worked with anyone I didn't like.

"... And I'd like to say thank you to all who have e-mailed and called," he said. "To all the people who listen by radio or watched on TV, I want to say thank you for letting us in your living room, and I hope we've been good guests."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

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