Dennis House Leaving 11 O'Clock News At WFSB

Dennis House, who will be marking 25 years at WFSB-TV this summer, will be signing off from the 11 o'clock news program next month. He's not leaving the station, just re-committing himself. In an e-mail exchange Thursday night, House said he just wants to get off the night shift to feel more like a dad.

"I’ve decided to make a big change," he said in a summary repeated from a video showing his announcement.

In the formal announcement, House said, "Next month, I will sign off from the 11 o’clock news, so I can instead be home at night with Kara and the kids for family dinners, helping with homework, coaching, and some of the other special moments I’ve been missing out on."(To sign up for free, local breaking news alerts from more than 100 Connecticut communities click here.)

House said he had been getting the, "Dad, do you have to work nights?" question a lot.

"I’ve been on this shift for most of my time here at Channel 3," he said.

House became the anchor of the late newscast in 1999, and the WFSB 11 o’clock newscast is rated No. 1 in the local Nielsen ratings.

"Now is the perfect time to end a very good run," he sad. "From anchoring the news from Ground Zero in 2001 to the Pope’s funeral at the Vatican in 2004, I’m very proud of what we accomplished on the final newscast of the day, including trying new things.

"About 10 years ago we came up with the idea of promoting the 11 p.m news on Facebook, becoming one of the first stations in the country to do that, and that practice is now an industry norm."

Well-wishers have been sending him notes on social media. House said the funniest is easy to summarize.

"A viewer recently came up to me and said 'Dennis, I go to bed with you every night,'" he sad.

One message on social media said, "You will be missed but thank you sacrificing time with your family ... It's been a long time ... Your family needs you for the next 31-plus ... God Bless!"

Another said, "Congrats to you Dennis ... we will deff miss you ... Good for you. We will miss you but you did a great job and we will see you earlier in the day. Enjoy your family because they grow so fast. We Love you!"

House said he will be doing the earlier newscast and remain as the host of the "Face the State" weekend program.

"To the viewers who stayed up with me and came to depend on me every night for their news, a heartfelt thank you for your support over the years," House said. "Your e-mails, Facebook comments, Tweets, and yes, even letters. You’ll still see me on the 5 o’clock and 6 o’clock news and Face the State for years to come. I’m signing a long term contract with the station thanks to my general manager, who started at WFSB back when I did, and my news director, who has been my colleague and friend since the mid-90s."

In the final e-mail exchange Thursday night, House said, spending more time with the kids will be "priceless."

Photo/Video Credit: WFSB