WBRZ-TV News Director Chuck Bark will step down at the end of the year from the position he has held at the local ABC affiliate since 2004. Bark says that at age 63 he’s not yet ready to retire, but after three decades in television news he’s ready to do something else with his life.
“I will give myself some time and then decide what I want to do next,” he says. “I don’t think people retire in the traditional sense anymore.”
During his tenure at WBRZ, Bark oversaw the transition to high definition broadcasts, as well as coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Gustav in 2008, the LSU football team’s national championship in 2007 and the New Orleans Saints’ 2009 Super Bowl victory.
“He’s certainly been a tremendous asset and will continue to be so,” says WBRZ General Manager Rocky Daboval, who counts Bark as the first hire he made after coming to the station in the early 2000s. “We’ve weathered a lot together. Our relationship is a great one.”
Bark came to WBRZ from Mobile, Alabama, where he was news director at WALA for 14 years. Prior to that, he worked at a station in Memphis, Tennessee. He and his wife plan to remain in the Baton Rouge area.
Bark says he doesn’t envision a return to broadcast news, adding “you never say no to anything because you don’t know what opportunities may pop up.”
—Stephanie Riegel
