415 Media Exclusive: A Conversation with George Watson; Former KTVU Star Anchor was Subject of "Dateline" Segment; Living Sober Life in Arizona

LIVE AND DIRECT FROM SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONE, GEORGE WATSON IS ON THE PHONE

George Watson is safe and sane. Great to report he's living in Scottsdale and enjoying retired life, sober and tranquil many years and sounding very much the same as he did when he was an anchor at KTVU.

Watson has politely turned down several nedia interview requests. He talks to me here at 415 Media, his first public interview in over two decades. His life is changed now, relatively stable and on an ordinary course. And that's fine with him now.

"Boring is good," chuckled Watson, 75 and mellow over a wide-ranging telephone conversation with me and talking about the biz and his retired life away from the camera and teleprompter.

"I feel good, awesome actually. It's nice here in Arizona even when it gets baked," Watson tells me. He is 17 years removed from working as a reporter/anchor at the CBS affiliate in Phoenix. A job that former KTVU boss/GM, Kevin O'Brien got him. It was O'Brien that was the same boss that had to let Watson go after repeated bouts with alcohol abuse. One final lapse crossed the line and that one signaled George's exit from Channel 2.

You know the story. The Bay Area knows the story. The rest of the nation did too. In a now famous NBC "Dateline" story, Watson talks about his bout with the bottle. It's tragically intense and real. It shows a sympathetic person, Watson, in his most darkest days. When there's a bit of hope, all of a sudden, darkness emerges. Watson's transgressions are in full display and at times it's a frustrating, sad and equally compelling segment. A segment that continues to be one of Dateline's most-watched programs--the segment aired in 1996, right when Watson left KTVU. He knows it still has an impact.

"When I first watched it, I had no idea it would be as impactful as it was. To me, at that stage in my life, it was kind of a blur." Watson also didn't realize how much the segment would have on his life later, even the more than twenty years later.

I tell him how many e-mails and calls I get asking about his status. He's still shocked. He's also incredibly happy that his life seems back on the road to recovery. "Every day is a new day."

I asked Watson if he has any interest in getting back into the biz, even on a limited basis doing special projects, a few bits here and there. His answer is an unequivocal "no." "I'm loving retired life, really have left that stage of my life." Indeed, Watson had a serious back issue; had to have surgery (he's now ok) but working would cause a great deal of hardship.

Watson and his wife, Diane, whom he met randomly at a Bay Area restaurant are avid followers, still, of the business. Watson worked with KTVU news boss, Fred Zehnder, who was killed by a suspected DUI driver in Alameda last week. "A terrible loss, what a man." Watson and his wife plan to attend the memorial service for Zehnder when it takes place.

A possible reunion of old KTVU on-air people, like Watson, Dennis Richmond, Rita Williams, Lloyd Lacuesta and others might be in the works too. That would be a dynamite idea and count me in as a interested observer.

I'm delighted and happy that Watson has turned his life around. I know you all are too.