Wait.
Weren’t we just the new guys?
While the memories of my return home to Detroit, just as Devin Scilian was getting situated in part of, then all of, the anchor chair gradually vacated by the legendary Mort Crim, are fresh, that really was more than 28 years ago. And, somehow, this is Devin’s last week anchoring at WDIV-TV.
They say in sports, easily applied to TV, that you never want to be the guy who replaces The Guy. That guy almost never makes it. So you really want to be the guy who replaces the guy who replaces The Guy.
Not Devin.
He was the guy who replaced The Guy who became THE GUY. It’s just remarkable. And it has been truly awesome to see it happen at first on the inside and then, for so many years, from the outside.
Devin has talent I don’t know has ever existed all in one person, at one time, in that industry. As far at the actual job expectation, he has been #1 in the ratings since soon after his arrival. But there’s much more to it than that. He is as great on the anchor desk as he was in “the field.” He can report on anything, anywhere, from big stories in the auto industry to every Olympics, on-site, for so many years. His craft of copy and turns of phrase are so good, I have sent clips to my friend who teaches at Syracuse for him to use in his broadcast news writing class. Devin prepares for interviews as well as anyone I’ve ever seen, complementing a natural curiosity. If there was a Hall of Fame for ad-libbers, he’d be on the first ballot. He’s as good in front of a live audience as an event moderator or emcee as he is in front of just a camera. He can anchor a newscast as well he can his passion-project public affairs talk show.
Beyond the anchoring and reporting, his people skills are unmatched. He’s as comfortable talking to a CEO at a business conference as he is with a viewer at a coney. He makes everybody he talks to feel more important than him. Through almost 30 years in the newsroom, he’s a respected, unquestioned leader – the kind of anchor image that on-air promos try to achieve but in Devin’s case, it has actually been like that in real life. Perhaps most impressively, he became a part of the community in deep ways by making it look easy. It didn’t hurt that he first got into hockey and embraced the Red Wings on the front-end of a run of four Stanley Cups.
Then there’s what I have long called the “Renaissance Man” stuff that’s just not fair, because he’s great at all of that too. Singing, songwriting and even writing kids’ books. Really. He’s that cool.
I’m going to miss working with him. He anchored the most fun newscast I ever produced (the day of the Red Wings’ parade in 1997) and the final newscast I produced. He has hosted many events for Tanner Friedman clients, where his magnetism and professionalism have been part of the draw, including the annual Mackinac Conference, where his session moderating often outshines national personalities.
If it seems like a lot of local news anchors are leaving their jobs, you’re right. The industry is changing quickly. For many professionals who have many reasons, the timing works for them to move on. But few, if any, have been able to do so much in one place than Devin.
Now, somehow, as one of the songs I enjoy hearing him perform most says, it’s time to “Take It Easy.” Somehow, I think we’re going to see even more talent come out of Devin Scillian. I’m looking forward to seeing (?), reading (?), hearing (?) it.