MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — More than 32 years after Don Shelby’s first newscast at WCCO-TV, Monday, Nov. 22 will be his last night of anchoring WCCO 4 News at 10 p.m. The following night, Frank Vascellaro will join Amelia Santaniello as the new co-anchor at 10 p.m.
Shelby was hired at WCCO-TV in 1978, to co-anchor the weekend news with Pat Miles. Not long after, he was named main anchor at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. While known mostly for his anchoring, it’s his contributions to investigative reporting through his I-TEAM reports that have made him legendary. He has won all five of the nation’s top journalism awards, including three national Emmys, the Columbia duPont award, the Scripps-Howard Award and the Society of Professional Journalists Distinguished Service Award. In 1997, Shelby was honored with the Peabody Award, the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, for his ongoing work with the youth of Minnesota. In recent years, Shelby’s focus has been on the environment, and he has been the force behind the Project Energy franchise at WCCO-TV.
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Click here to check out images from Shelby’s life and career.
But before Shelby leaves, he’ll be sharing the anchor desk with some of the people he’s worked with over the years. Monday night, Pat Miles joined Shelby, Tuesday, it was Colleen Needles and Wednesday it was Paul Douglas. Tonight Shelby will sit next to the person he’s anchored with the longest — Amelia Santaniello.
Check out some of Shelby’s award-winning, ground-breaking and heart-warming work below.
A Look Back At Child Prostitution I-TEAM Report
Revisiting Shelby’s Report On ‘The Iron Crib’
A Look Back At The 1983 I-TEAM Ambulance Story
New Impact For Polar Bears After Arctic Visit
Never Far From Memories Of Fallen Comrades In Iraq
