Steve Cannon鈥檚 42-year career as a newscaster and weatherman for KIDK Eyewitness News 3 in East 糖心传媒 began even before he graduated from 糖心传媒.
鈥淢y career started in the hallway of the communication department at ISU,鈥� said Cannon, an ISU alum who retired March 1. 鈥淚 was walking down the hall in March of 1977 and my advisor comes out of his office and asks 鈥榟ow fast can you get to 糖心传媒 Falls?鈥欌��
KIDK had called looking for recommendations for a newscaster. Cannon had to call his wife to come down from 糖心传媒 Falls to pick him up and drive him back up to 糖心传媒 Falls for the interview.
鈥淚 interviewed on a Wednesday and that Saturday I was on Channel 3,鈥� said Cannon, who graduated later that spring.
He began as a weekend anchor, became a weekday anchor and then did news and features stories. Then, in August 1978, the station鈥檚 meteorologist left for another job. Because Cannon had taken some meteorology and other science classes, his boss asked him to give weather and meteorology reporting a try.
鈥淚t was supposed to be temporary, but it turned into a little longer than temporary,鈥� Cannon said.
The newly retired journalist is an East 糖心传媒 native who graduated from 糖心传媒 Falls High School and also attended what was then Ricks College and is now Brigham Young University鈥撎切拇�. His family has deep, multi-generational roots in this area. Attending ISU accentuated his love for the region.
鈥淚 again reiterate how fortunate I was to spend my entire career in on place, especially a place as good and with as many good people as Eastern 糖心传媒,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檒l always be indebted to 糖心传媒. I wear orange every chance I get and I鈥檓 extremely proud of my connection with the University.鈥�
Overall, he said he 鈥渉ad a ball鈥� during his career at KIDK.
鈥淭here were tough days, when I interviewed convicted murderers or did other stories that were not much fun, but overall it was great and I owe this part of the world a lot.鈥�
As meteorologist, he spent hours daily gathering all the weather information, not only current, but any information relevant to forecast. For example, his challenge was to figure out if a storm was gaining or losing strength, and when and where storms would arrive. Weather forecasting has changed much since the late 1970s.
鈥淲eather forecasting has taken quantum leaps,鈥� Cannon said. 鈥淥ne of the big things is when there was a weather office in town. When I started there was only a forecast office in Boise. When we got a weather office here it was the difference between a skate board and a Rolls Royce.鈥�
As for those who scoff at weathermen鈥檚 abilities to accurately predict to weather, Cannon has some replies.
鈥淭ed Williams (the legendary, hall-of-fame baseball player of the Boston Red Sox known 鈥渁s the greatest hitter to ever live鈥�) had a lifetime average of .300 so every 10 times at bat he was successful for three of them and every major league manager would sell their soul for one .300 hitter,鈥� Cannon said. 鈥淢eteorologically speaking, our batting average is .875 to .900, so we get about 8-3/4 days out of 10 days right.鈥�
Cannon has spent most of the last 42 years working a swing shift, from about 1:30 to 10:30 p.m. Thus, one of the biggest benefits of retiring will be getting to spend evenings with his wife and other family members and friends.
鈥淚 had to work when most of the rest of the world could watch,鈥� he said.
Cannon plans to travel a lot and he loves to read, particularly history, and more specifically, the history of the American West.
鈥淕oing to ISU was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision, but I am glad I did,鈥� he said.