KCNC Anchor Jim Benemann To Retire At Year’s End

CBS O&O KCNC Denver news anchor Jim Benemann announced his decision to retire at the end of this year following 44 years in the TV news business and 36 years in local broadcasting. Benemann is one of Denver’s longest serving evening TV news anchors. He has been the face of the evening news on CBS4 since 2002, and has anchored alongside Karen Leigh since 2008.

Benemann’s reporting career has seen him file stories from five continents, including two Olympic Games, covering Capitol Hill in Washington and military veterans returning to the places they served, including the battlefields of France and the jungles of Vietnam.

“Jim is an outstanding journalist and an exceptional communicator,” General Manager Tim Wieland said. “He actually worked with our station in the 1990s, then left for a brief stint, but came back to CBS4 in 2002 and has been here ever since. His passion for his work and his commitment to our community make him one of the most respected broadcasters in Colorado.”

“We are sad to see Jim leave the CBS4 family but wish him the best in his retirement,” News Director Kristine Strain added.  “He’s been the heart and the face of Denver TV for more than two decades and during that time he has volunteered to emcee hundreds of events for nonprofit organizations. We hear from so many viewers who have met him at events ranging from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts gala, to Food Bank of the Rockies fundraisers, the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts annual awards ceremony and countless others. He really touches lives and will be missed!”

Benemann is a Chicago native and moved to Colorado to attend Colorado State University, earning a degree in broadcasting in 1978. Over the decades, his award-winning anchoring and reporting has included major assignments on local, national and international stories. Benemann’s TV news career began in Davenport, Iowa. Prior to returning to CBS4 where he anchored in the early 1990’s, Jim worked at Denver’s KUSA and at KGW Portland, Ore.