Van Hyfte leaving News 8 to join husband

At a shade past 10:30 Thursday night, Vanessa Van Hyfte will roll gently away from a desk -- in a television studio named for the man who gave her her start -- and take a deep breath.

She will scan the place she has called home for a dozen years, slip out a side door and slide -- with a strange feeling in her stomach -- into her car.

In some cases there would be no looking back, but not here. It has been a fun 12 years, first as reporter and the last two as a WQAD News 8 anchor.

"You can't close the book on something that's been such an important part of your life,'' said Ms. Van Hyfte. "I love this area -- I'm from here -- and I have loved my years at News 8.''

In June, she married Lt. Commander Dr. Robert Miner, USN, now stationed in Seattle. Dr. Miner is in the infant stages of a four-year residence commitment to the United States Navy, and Ms. Van Hyfte is set to join him next week.

In many situations these days, members of the media -- fixtures in communities -- are sent packing without so much as a "thanks.'' In the "kick-you-to-the-curb'' world we live in, we have seen curb-kickings locally in television and in radio. So when someone who comes into our home each night at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. bids farewell to the business, it's nice to share that she is leaving on her own.

"She's been great for our station and the community,'' News 8 general manager Larry Rosmilso said. "Vanessa has played a variety of roles for us and done so with professionalism and an attitude that the viewers are first. She's a credit to the profession. Her leaving is her choice.''

Ms. Van Hyftye, an Annawan native, graduated from Western Illinois University with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism. She says broadcast legend Jim "Kinger" King and WQAD reporter Chris Minor have been her biggest career influences.

"Kinger was Kinger,'' she said. "You learned so much from him, but he refused to do it for you. He threw me the ball that first night and let me run with it. It was up to me -- and he guided me -- to go forward.

"And Chris, she's taken me under her wing and taught me so much," Ms. VanHyfte said. "She made sure I was prepared and refused to let me ever do a story in a half-hearted way.''

Ms. Van Hyfte is more than a pretty face in front of a camera. She has worked her craft, spent hours refining stories and has been able to roll with the punches that come with live television. She was twice awarded Best Reporter of the Year by the Illinois Associated Press. In 2005, she chronicled the road to recovery of a wounded soldier from Annawan. Her one-hour special report won her numerous press honors including a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, The Eric Sevareid Award and honors from the Iowa Broadcast News Association.

"It was a story we felt was worth telling,'' Ms. Van Hyfte said. "I'm grateful for the chance to do it.''

What Seattle will bring as far as work is unclear, but Ms. Van Hyfte does have plans after her husband completes his commitment to the Navy.

"I can see us coming back and him starting a practice in the Quad-Cities,'' Van Hyfte said. "I'm so close with my family and it would be a natural to come back. As for staying in the business after we get settled in Seattle, I'll look for something in this field.''

And that will be Seattle's gain.

Columnist John Marx can be reached at (309) 757-8388 or jmarx@qconline.com.

Reprinted with permission from the Dispatch/Rock Island Argus, a Read It/Watch It partner with News 8.

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