Longtime NBC Connecticut News Anchor Part Of Station Reshuffling: Update

With the return of Connecticut native Mike Hydeck from a station in Washington, D.C., NBC Connecticut is shuffling its lineup of news anchors, The Laurel reports.

In the biggest change, longtime anchor Gerry Brooks will take on a reduced role beginning in November, he announced on his Facebook page.

Brooks said he has been covering Connecticut for more than 43 years, and at 65, he is ready to slow down a bit. But not too much; he's still going to anchor the 6 p.m. telecast.

"After staring at myself in the mirror for an inordinate amount of time, I have come to the conclusion that I have just enough hair left to be a television news anchor on a reduced schedule. So at the end of November, I will step away from the night shift, and anchor only NBC Connecticut News at 6," Brooks wrote on Facebook.

Brooks said he was considering retirement when his contract ended in November, but when his bosses asked him to remain, they "offered a generous deal for me to continue to anchor at 6, and assist in the transition to the next generation. I can't thank them enough."

"And as David Letterman recently said, '...if you retire to spend more time with your family, check with your family first.' So this will be an excellent time for my wife Kathy and me to embrace the concept of full-time 'togetherness,' and she'll still have me out of the house for at least half the day.

"I've been covering Connecticut for 43+ years now. Years ago, I promised myself that I wouldn't "hang on," that I would go out throwing fastballs. This will let me do that at a television station I love, and with colleagues I genuinely enjoy. I am a very lucky man," Brooks said in his social media post.

Hydeck, a former news anchor at WFSB, is slated to join WVIT (NBC Connecticut) next month, and according to unnamed sources who spoke to The Laurel, Hydeck is scheduled for the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. telecasts with Keisha Grant.

Click here to read the full story on The Laurel.

Image via NBC Connecticut