www.heraldonline.com/109/story/993573.html -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 12/3/2008
Last Visited: 12/4/2008
> > > > > > > > > > > var thisArticleId = "993573"; var thisArticleUrl = "/109/story/993573.html"; var thisArticleTitle = "WSOC-TV news anchor Faubion to retire in June"; var thisArticleSection = "Local/State"; var thisArticleCatagory = ""; NYX.cache.iconRoot = "http://pluck.heraldonline.com/ver1.0/Content/images/icons/"; > if (NYX) { NYX.commentingInit(); }
...
CHARLOTTE -- Debi Faubion, who has been at the WSOC (Rock Hill cable Channel 4) anchor desk since 1990 and is Charlotte's longest-serving current TV anchor, said Tuesday she intends to retire when her contract expires in June.
Faubion, 58, said she reached the decision over the Thanksgiving holiday.
She said she wants to spend more time with family, on civic projects and trying to improve her golf game.
"It's just kind of a good time to step down and let the others continue on," Faubion said.
"It's my decision, just my decision.
...
Faubion, who stepped into the anchor chair from WCCO-TV in Minneapolis to succeed Meg MacDonald, joined Channel 9 only two months after it passed WBTV (Channel 3) as the ratings leader in newscasts, an advantage it has held ever since.
...
Faubion grew up in Norman, Okla., and got a degree from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., in broadcasting and film.
Before coming to Charlotte, she worked as reporter and anchor at stations in Mobile, Ala., Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Minneapolis.
But like most in the industry, she started at the bottom -- in Quincy, Ill., where she created programs for a cable company.
One was a show where kids would call in and talk to puppets.
Not only did Faubion make the puppets, she voiced four or five of the characters.
She told thousands of stories over the years, but remembers the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as the biggest news event of her career.
"People expect you to keep it together and give them the news, and I did," Faubion said.
"But when I got out in the parking lot that night, I just cried."
Debi Faubion