KWQC anchor Dustin Nolan gave an emotional farewell on-air to Quad City viewers Friday, announcing that he has “chosen to step away from a new industry.” On his way out, he shouted for “sanitized news” and declared it was the responsibility of journalists to “bring people out of their bubbles and comfort zones and make them think about the world we all live in.”
Director Nolan said, “I have chosen to leave the news industry.” “Before I say goodbye, I just want to say this: To all of you who have made it possible for me to be a part of your mornings, I hope you know how much it means to me that I got this job, and how much it means to me that you have trusted me to bring you the news in the mornings all these years. I promise you, I’ve never tried to be perfect and I’ve never aspired to be what many think a newspaper reporter should be. But I’ve always tried my best to be transparent and to give you all the truth, and I’ve always been myself. ”
“I’ve always believed that as a local news station, we owe it to our viewers to do what’s best for us, because none of us could do this job without you,” he added. “We also believe that as a local news station, we have to be more than trends and sanitized news that make people uncomfortable. That’s why facts matter, and that’s why we do what we do here. We have to take people out of their bubbles and comfort zones and make them think about the world we all live in.”
KWQC is a Davenport, Iowa-based station that reports news from the Quad Cities, including Davenport, Iowa. Bettendorf, Iowa. Rock Island, Illinois and Moline, Illinois. According to Nolan’s LinkedIn, he has been working at the agency since 2022.
Nolan is married to KWQC co-anchor Jenna, and he thanked her at the end of his contract. “The hardest part of this job for me is that I won’t be working with Jenna anymore, because not only is she the greatest anchor on the news desk, she’s the greatest co-anchor in life.”
