Dustin Nolan has worked as an anchor for Iowa’s KWQC TV6 (an NBC affiliate) since 2022. Just last year, he and his wife took home a Mid-America Emmy for Best Morning/Daytime newscast in the medium/small market category.
All that to say, Nolan’s career seemed to be on an upward trajectory…which made his “bittersweet” announcement all the more heartbreaking.
The reporter was immediately visibly emotional as he told viewers that it would be his last day on air since he was “stepping away from the news industry.”
A heartfelt goodbye
Nolan began by affirming how seriously he took the job, and how much it meant to him that people “trusted” him to bring the morning news. He said that while he never strove for perfection in his journalism, he did strive for authenticity.
“I promise you I’ve given you everything I have…I’ve always done my best to be transparent, bring you the facts, and I’ve always been myself. I’ve loved being able to provide a public service to this place we all call home, the Quad Cities,” he said.
He continued: “When it comes to this job, all I’ve ever wanted to do is report on the issues that really matter.”
Nolan also emphasized the importance of local news stations not simply following “trends” or “sanitizing” their messaging to avoid making people uncomfortable.
“The facts matter and that’s why we do what we do here. We have to take people out of their bubbles and comfort zones and make them think about the world we all live in.”
Ironically, Nolan’s plea for facts in journalism wasn’t necessarily adhered to in the headlines relating to his farewell announcement.
Several outlets covering the story used verbiage that suggested he quit live on the air in protest of the news industry, which Nolan clarified was not the case in a follow-up post shared on X.
“Facts matter. Journalism matters. Being truthful matters. That was my message on Friday, and now it’s being twisted into whatever ideology people want…I was not quitting on air. I decided with my wife months ago, and the station had the job posted months ago. Second, I was not blasting the news station or the news industry. I was simply explaining my approach to journalism and reminding everyone what we do.”
Indeed, Nolan’s farewell message, and the stories that were spun because of it, is a fascinating demonstration of how quickly and instinctively we can manipulate the facts to fit into a certain narrative.
A case study in media literacy
It’s worth noting that this was done both by news outlets and regular online discussion. Many comments on X and TikTok interpreted Nolan’s announcement as standing up against having a moral dilemma with working in media.
“It’s so hard to say goodbye to a career you so loved and believe in. I pray he will be able to find his alignment again,” wrote one person.
Another said, “This is what happens when you have principles and morals and refuse to lie and push propaganda. May Dustin Nolan thrive and prosper in his future endeavors.”
Many of us are disillusioned by the bias, censorship, and sensationalism of modern-day journalism. So it’s easy to see how readers might have concluded that Nolan was as well. But the facts are: Nolan shared that he was leaving, and he shared what he believed news stations “owed” the public. That’s it.
If there’s an additional “spin” to add, it’s this human element: what we witnessed was a man saying goodbye to something he loved, and goodbyes are painful. A story like this won’t necessarily make headlines, but it certainly reminds us of what’s undeniably true…that everything ends.
