Roger Wolfe stumbled upon journalism in college before he knew what he was getting himself into.
Wolfe, KUSA-Channel 9 Northern Colorado bureau reporter, got his start working part-time running a studio camera and cleaning the offices of a third-rate television station on the second floor of a dingy hotel in Illinois.
“I used to have to go down the hall and tell them to be quiet because we were trying to shoot a newscast,” Wolfe said.
His cameras shot only film, and sometimes the station used Polaroid pictures of accidents to save money on its film budget.
“That was in the dark ages,” Wolfe said.
After about 40 years of working in broadcast journalism, Wolfe has come a long way from the station in the shabby hotel.
Wolfe is this year’s recipient of the Rex Howell Broadcaster of the Year Award, which recognizes an individual for his or her leadership, skill and dedication in advancing the work of broadcasting in the community, state and nation.
The award, named for a pioneer Colorado broadcaster, is given by the Colorado Broadcasters Association.
Wolfe’s younger brother, Gary, a 9News photojournalist, said Roger deserves the award because of how much time he’s put in every day.
“For almost 40 years as a general assignment reporter, he’s been grinding out the sausage, so to speak,” he said. “I just feel like not a lot of people last that long in this kind of business.”
And Gary Wolfe would know. Roger said their relationship is like a marriage because they spend so much time together in the Fort Collins bureau of 9News, which is the television partner of The Denver Post.
“Sometimes a little sibling rivalry will rear its head up, but it’s always minor,” Roger Wolfe said. “When working in such a close relationship, it’s important you know you can depend on the guy at your side.”
Working at the bureau makes Wolfe feel like a stranger to newbies at the Denver office.
But his longtime colleagues, such as Paula Woodward, investigative reporter for 9Wants To Know, who’s worked with Wolfe for about 20 years, admire the work he’s done.
“Roger has set a tremendous example for me personally,” Woodward said. “Any time you work in a bureau, it is physically demanding and you’re very isolated. You wear many hats.”
Boulder bureau reporter Gary Shapiro describes Wolfe as very professional.
One thing Shapiro said he and Wolfe have in common is having to occasionally stand out reporting on storms at 4 a.m.
“He’s getting ready to retire this summer,” Shapiro said, “and I can think of no one who deserves not to be out in the cold at 4 a.m. any more than him.”
Staff writer Katherine Crowell can be reached at kcrowell@denverpost.com.
