Shellene Cockrell, a veteran television and radio reporter, has a new beat: good news. This month, she will debut on Comcast Cable’s “Metro Beat,” as well as on “Castle Rock View” on the town’s
government-access channel. A freelancer, Cockrell also has a monthly show for KATV Channel 8 in Arvada called “The A-Files.” A former reporter and anchor on WB2 News, she also has hosted a women’s sports talk show for Altitude Sports & Entertainment, as well as worked for other TV and radio stations.
A native of Colorado Springs and a former Miss Colorado, she represented the state in the 1994 Miss America pageant.
Q: Why does a city need its own TV programming?
A: The mainstream news stations mainly cover daily hard-news events happening around the state, only allotting a minute to a minute and a half of airtime to a story. A lot more goes on in a city than the latest death, accident or sexual assault, and that’s where local programming comes in. It’s an avenue to showcase, with more depth, what is happening or available to residents in a community.
Q: How much of your job is reporting and how much is public relations? Can the two co-exist credibly?
A: Doing a magazine-style show is a lot different than hard news; this is happy TV. So while some PR may play into it, it’s still all about telling a truthful story and getting accurate information across to the viewer. Per my own ethics, if it were to ever occur, I wouldn’t let PR get in the way of presenting a balanced story. I want my credibility as a journalist to remain intact.
Q: What kind of stories can viewers expect, and why are those stories important to tell?
A: Stories about interesting people, places to go, things to do, as well as informational stories on different events and projects and what’s going on in their communities. Why are those stories important to tell? Because they’re positive and we need more “good” news in this world.
Q: Why did you take this turn in your career?
A: Really I’ve just come full circle. I started out hosting sports, events and entertainment-style programming, so by not re-signing as a full-time news reporter with WB2, I now have the freedom to pursue those things again, which is what I truly enjoy. I also needed to get a life. Working all nights and weekends was not working for me personally. I’ll never say never on going back to news, but for right now I’m happy with the change.
– Joey Bunch, Denver Post staff writer
