Ken Hoffman
For decades, sleep
deprivation and a
stylish ’stache has
suited Tom Koch well
I bumped into ABC 13 morning news
C
anchor (and Bellaire’s most popular
event emcee-in-residence) Tom
Koch at H-E-B recently. Don’t worry,
nobody was hurt. But during out brief
hello-goodbye, Koch (pronounced Cook)
mentioned that he recently celebrated his
37th anniversary at KTRK-TV.
I was surprised by the number because
when we think of long-running anchors
in Houston TV news, names like Bill
Balleza generally come to mind. Balleza
has 48 years in the tank, 39 at the same
station, Channel 2. When Balleza meets
his judgment day next January, his
announced retirement date, he’ll have
nearly half a century in the TV news
business.
Today, let’s focus on Koch reaching 37
years at Channel 13 under the radar, right
under our noses. Maybe it’s his quiet,
low-key style, maybe it’s what’s under his
nose — that distinguished news anchor
mustache.
Trivia note: Koch started at Channel
13 the same day that anchor Melanie
Lawson did. We’ll tackle her story
soon, but in the meantime, here are 10
questions for the reigning, Bill Balleza-in-
waiting, king of morning news, Tom
Koch.
Ken Hoffman: Where were you raised,
and where were you working before
Channel 13?
Tom Koch: I was raised in a small town in
Wisconsin, 35 miles southwest of Green
Bay. After graduating from the University
of Wisconsin, I got a job anchoring
Page 30 | THE ESSENTIALS
the news in far northern Wisconsin in
Rhinelander. It wasn’t the end of the
world, but you could see it from there.
After a year of shooting film and freezing,
I moved to WBAY-TV in Green Bay,
where I was a reporter and weekend
anchor for three years. On Sept. 13, 1982,
I started as a reporter at KTRK-TV.
KH: Can you believe you’ve been at one
station this long — and it’s in Houston?
TK: This is the longest I’ve ever held a
job. If you had told me in 1982 that I
would spend my career here in Houston,
or anywhere in Texas, I would have bet
the farm against you. Luckily, I didn’t
own a farm. But it’s been a great ride
with great people.
CM: Give me all the jobs you’ve had at
13.
TK: I was a reporter here for six years
before I became the morning news
anchor in 1988. But then I still reported
after the show was over. Then in 2001,
I started doing the new hourlong, 4
p.m. newscast with Gina Gaston. It was
a tough split shift for me, coming in at
3:15 am, doing the two-and-a-half-hour
morning show, and going home at 7:30
am.
Then, I would return to the station at 1
p.m. and go home after the 4 p.m. news
at 5:15 p.m. or so. But many days I also
filled in for Dave Ward, doing the 6
p.m. news. I stopped doing the 4 p.m.
in 2008. I also edited a lot of my stories
early on.
KH: What time do you go to bed?
TK: I should go to bed at 7 p.m., but most
days I don’t go until 8:30 or 9 p.m. On
the rare occasion that I have an event
during the week, I sometimes don’t get to
bed until 11 p.m.
Koch arrived at Channel 13 in 1982, a fresh-faced reporter-anchor from
Wisconsin. More than three decades later, the distinguished morning
anchor is the station’s go-to guy for special coverage and a globetrotter,
seen here on assignment at the Vatican earlier this year.