CHRIS EARL relates to audiences from his nearly 30 years in media but also decades of living the same “life” as so many of the viewers and readers he serves.

After nine years as a sports anchor, Chris transitioned to news in 2005 with WEAU-TV in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  The audience of Western Wisconsin’s top-rated newsroom welcomed him back to the region, six years after he was a rookie sports anchor at the station.

Three years later, Chris moved to Cedar Rapids and KCRG-TV, the top-rated ABC affiliate serving Eastern Iowa.  While in Iowa, Chris served in every newsroom capacity except for running the place.  He won numerous awards for his anchoring and reporting, including first place awards in Iowa “Anchor, Large Market” (2015-17) and “Reporter, Large Market” (2013), the only journalist to place first in both IBNA categories.

In early 2022, Chris made a major move, jumping 40 markets to WFTX-TV, the FOX affiliate in Cape Coral/Fort Myers, Florida as evening anchor, where he led the 6pm, 10pm and 11pm newscasts serving Southwest Florida. 

Chris now anchors the 4pm, 5pm, 6pm and 10pm newscasts at KAKE-TV, the ABC affiliate serving Wichita and all of Western Kansas.

Quantifiable accomplishments:

• Anchored 23,000+ live newscasts or sportscasts, a cornerstone component of 18,000+ hours of live television.
• Filed more than 3,000 television reports from the field and 500 bylines with the Cedar Rapids Gazette.  Met deadline every single time except the one time in 2013 when a Rascal Flatts concert next door to a Ted Cruz campaign event he covered took out wireless capacity to send his video report back to Cedar Rapids. 
• Mentored younger colleagues, helping offer perspectives on work efficiency and career outlook to more than 55 co-workers, watching with pride as they elevated into larger markets as producers, reporters or anchors or into other related career paths.
• Guided the newscasts he anchored from 2005 to 2022 to #1 in the key 25-54 age demographics for 68 consecutive Nielsen ratings periods between WEAU and KCRG.  This included all dayparts, from mornings to evenings and six years of weekend newscasts.
• On the front lines for anchoring coverage for historic events, from Hurricane Ian in 2022, the Iowa Derecho of 2020, epic flooding in Cedar Rapids in 2016 and 2008.  Calmly anchored hundreds of hours of unscripted, live coverage to lead viewers through unsettling times.
• Grew social media channels at KCRG-TV, from 2009 to his departure in 2022, with 24,000 Facebook followers and 5,500 Twitter followers from thoughtful, engaging content.
• FAA-certified drone pilot since 2018, with more than 700 flights that have aired in his newsrooms. 
• Published author of three full-length novels, Gotcha Down (2004), The Interim (2007) and The Last Out (2009).  All based on his own experiences in sports media to craft a narrative of layered, compelling characters, noted for their realism.