WISH’s Debby Knox To Retire After 33 Years

LIN-owned CBS affiliate WISH Indianapolis (DMA 36) anchor Debby Knox announced  that she will retire next month, after being a staple in Hoosier homes for more than 33 years.

Knox is the longest serving female news anchor in Central Indiana, according to WISH. She is second in tenure, of all time, only to her former co-anchor Mike Ahern, who retired from WISH in 2004. Knox will anchor her last regular newscast on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

“It’s been a wonderful opportunity to be part of the community as well as an incredible journey to cover the important events and people over my career at WISH-TV,” Knox said.

“Central Indiana viewers, as well as those of us who have had the pleasure of working with Debby have all benefited from her talents and her dedication to quality journalism,” said Jeff White, WISH president and general manager. “It is with mixed emotions that we say so long. While we’re sad to see her retire, we’re happy for the next chapter in her life and the additional time she’ll have to spend with her family.”

Knox retires as lead anchor of the 6, 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts. She started as the noon news anchor in the fall of 1980, coming to WISH after working at stations in Elkhart and South Bend, Ind.

Knox’s reports, as well as her awards and accolades, have been many and varied during her years with WISH. While her main reporting focus has been on health and medical technology, she is also known for her one-on-one interviews with prominent newsmakers and world leaders, such as President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, First Lady Barbara Bush, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Butler University Men’s Basketball Coach and current coach of the Boston Celtics, Brad Stevens. 

In addition to a long list of awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press, including the 2013 AP award for Best Feature, Knox has been honored with several Indiana State Medical Journalism awards and she received the National American Heart Association Award for a documentary called Roger Nine and was awarded the Theodore Barrett Award from the Indiana Psychological Association.