I don’t understand how NBC 5’s Brendan Higgins could be departing the station now that his contract has expired. He was named ”Best TV Anchor” in last year’s “Best Of” issue by this very publication. Guess that dashes our ambition to become the bible of the news broadcast industry.
Seriously, though, Higgins is a unique talent in a field full of talking heads that are either dull or grating. He is affable but more than a little oddball, as if he snuck past the industry gatekeepers who demand that TV anchors be the human equivalent of an XL vanilla shake. His casual asides about the stories the news team covered had a smart stoner-ish quality.
Even weirder – the NBC 5 morning show was a ratings winner with him on board. I’ve never met Higgins, and I don’t know anybody at the station. But barring A) he wanted to leave and was glad to get out or B) he had job performance issues the public wasn’t privy to, I’d say the top brass made a big mistake letting him go.
I hope he lands on his feet like Hansen did years ago. We need a little human honesty in our talking heads. Could be the best thing that happened to him.