Bob Guthrie

Bob Guthrie was a steady, distinctive voice in San Antonio broadcasting, who guided residents of South Texas through wars, floods and Fiesta for over half a century. Bob began work as a newsman at WOAI Radio in 1956 while he was a 22-year-old soldier on active duty in the U.S. Army. He retired in April 2009, after 53 years on the air, which is among the longest tenures at a single station in the history of American broadcasting.

Bob was part of many of the pivotal news events that shaped our world from the 1950s into the new century. For example, not only was Bob in the packed hallway of the Dallas Police Department on November 22, 1963, when Lee Harvey Oswald was brought in for questioning, but it was Bob, a lifelong hunter, who identified to the Dallas detectives the make and model of the weapon Oswald used to kill the President.

Bob was also news and sports anchor and reporter for nearly 20 years on Channel 4 Television when both radio and television were in the same downtown building. He was also the familiar voice of many San Antonio events, including the Battle of Flowers Parade and the Investiture of King Antonio. And, for over 30 years Bob delivered a weekly newscast at the Downtown Rotary club luncheon – the largest rotary club in the world.

Bob Guthrie accomplished what all of us in broadcasting, either in front of the mike or behind the scenes, aspire to. He set the highest standard of excellence in journalism and remains a beloved, respected, and admired figure in his community and profession.

WOAI News Director, Jim Forsyth, adds, “Bob has been such an amazing example not just for generations of news men and women, but for generations of people he never knew, yet who knew him as a friend and as a reassuring voice in times of crisis.”