He made the transition from radio to TV almost flawlessly; became one of the biggest personalities in the SF market, all the while being universally respected and well-liked. The stories about him since his passing are all well-founded--he was a good man.
As a newshound growing up in the Bay Area during the 70's, I remember McElhatton briefly at KCBS; when he migrated over to TV and began his run at Channel 5, he became more well-known, (obviously) but the 'good-guy personality, admired by his peers and generally considered on of the best in his profession never left him.
Keep in mind that he excelled at a time when two heavyweight anchors, (Van Amburg and Dennis Richmond) were entrenched. Competition was heavy and the news business provided editorial girth. Of course there was no Internet in the mid-80's and early 90's, but "Mac" would have been able to handle it.
I met him briefly on various occasions and found him to be a real cool guy. Everything that people said was true. Just an real professional with a great personality.
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