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Lexington has had some longtime memorable local television news anchors on its stations over the years.
Popular TV personalities like WKYT’s Barbara Bailey and Bill Bryant, or WLEX-18’s Sue Wylie and Nancy Cox, shaped local news for decades while becoming viewer favorites.
Among the icons is longtime anchor Marvin Bartlett, who announced this week that after 31 years at FOX-56, his contract is not being renewed. Bartlett said he is not ready to retire yet, but he is a part of other longtime Lexington news, weather and sports TV iconic personalities. Here is a look at some of them and their impact on the Lexington TV landscape.
WLEX-18’s Marvin Bartlett, May 31, 1990. Bartlett started at WLEX in 1987 as a reporter, then working his way up to weekend anchor and then morning anchor. He became the co-anchor for the Fox 56 Ten O’clock News on Jan. 2, 1995. Bartlett was named one of America’s Top 100 Bachelors by People Magazine in 2000. He got married in 2004. Clay Owen Herald-Leader staff file photo
WDKY-TV FOX 56 news anchor Marvin Bartlett, pictured during a June 30, 2005, taping session for the ten o'clock news at the WKYT studio in Lexington, Ky. Bartlett has anchored the FOX newscast since January 1995. Joseph Rey Au Herald-Leader file photo
WKYT-TV (Channel 27) broadcasters, February 1993, from left: sportscaster Rob Bromley; anchor Sam Dick; anchor Barbara Bailey; meteorologist Cindy Preszler. Photo provided
WLEX-TV (Channel 18) broadcasters, February 1993, from left: meteorologist Diane Kacmarik; anchor Tom Kenny; anchor Mindy Shannon; sportscaster Alan Cutler. Ron Garrison Herald-Leader staff file photo
WTVQ-TV (Channel 36) broadcasters, February 1993, from left: meteorologist Brad James; anchor John Lindgren; anchor Sky Yancey; sportscaster Kenny Rice. Ron Garrison Herald-Leader staff file photo
"Fearless" Frank Faulconer, shown at WKYT in 1968. Faulconer was the station’s first weatherman, working in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The great uncle of Rep. Andy Barr, Faulconer would go on to be a recognizable voice on radio, including rock and roll station WKQQ. He died in 2023 at 100.
Three legendary and popular WKYT-TV Channel 27 meteorologists from left, Chris Bradley, Brian Collins, and T.G. Shuck, Feb. 12, 1999. Collins, the ever-smiling longtime Lexington television weatherman, died May 20, 2004 of complications from lung cancer. He was 62. As a beloved television personality, Collins was often called upon to be the master of ceremonies at pageants and the grand marshal of parades. He had even played Santa Claus, posing for pictures with people's pets at the Lexington Humane Society. He frequently visited schools to give talks to children. Collins started as a reporter at WLEX-TV Channel 18 in 1981. His contract was not renewed in 1992, partly because he was not a meteorologist at the time. Collins then joined the staff of Channel 27, working part-time at first. He studied meteorology at Mississippi State University and eventually moved up to chief meteorologist at WKYT. Shuck left WKYT in 2012 and is currently the Chief Meteorologist at WTVQ. Bailey, the current WKYT chief meteorologist, said he became a meteorologist because of Collins. Collins made Bailey one of his "weather watchers" when Bailey was in the fifth grade in Salyersville. Collins would send Bailey weather books to study and years later Collins gave Bailey his first chance to be a weather forecaster. Mark Cornelison Herald-Leader staff photo
WKYT-TV broadcaster and anchor Bill Bryant, May 31, 1990. Bryant, a Kentucky native, has been at WKYT since 1986. He currently co-anchors evening and nighttime newscasts for the local station. He is the longest serving male news anchor in Lexington television history. Since 2015, Bryant has been the host of Comment on Kentucky, the longest-running public affairs show on the Kentucky Educational Television network. Clay Owen Herald-Leader staff file photo
WKYT’s Sam Dick and Barbara Bailey prepare to flip the switch and light the Christmas tree with Santa in Lexington’s Triangle Park in 1998. Dick worked for 34 years at WKYT, 17 as its evening anchor. “When I first walked in the door at WKYT in March of 1979, I was 23 years old,” Dick said when he announced his retirement. “The newsroom still had typewriters, we shot film for news, and there were just four channel options on TV for viewers.” Matt Barton Herald-Leader file photo
WKYT sportscaster Rob Bromley behind the sport desk in July 1982. He was the top-rated sportscaster in Lexington at the time. Bromley announced his retirement in 2017. He had been working at WKYT since January 1977. A news release from WKYT-TV about Bromley’s retirement said that during his time at WKYT, he interviewed every UK basketball coach since the days of Joe B. Hall, who retired in 1985 and led the Wildcats to a national title in 1978. Christy Porter Herald-Leader staff file photo
WLEX-18’s Sue Wylie, May 3, 1982. Wylie was a longtime Lexington television news anchor and radio talk show host. Before joining WLEX in 1968, she was a trailblazer, working in Columbus, Ohio, and Miami, where she was among the first women covering hard news in that television market. She created the “Your Government” show for LEX-18 in the early 1970s and went on to host several governors on the show, as well as political figures including Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy and Jesse Jackson. Wylie retired from a 30-year career at LEX-18 in 1998 but continued to host a talk radio show on WVLK-590 AM until 2013. She died at 90 in a 2023 car crash. John C. Wyatt Herald-Leader staff file photo
During Keeneland's Fall Meet in October 1976, WLEX-TV sports director Tom Hammond, second from left, joined two members of the Cincinnati's Big Red Machine, Pete Rose (at right) and Doug Flynn (at left), for a visit to the Lexington track. Hammond, a renowned sportscaster, led LEX-18’s sports for 10 years. He went on to work for NBC Sports in 1984, covering numerous college basketball and football games, some of the world’s biggest horse races and 13 Olympics Games. David Perry Herald-Leader staff file photo
Nancy Cox, after she was hired to anchor WLEX-18's Saturday morning newscast, June 23, 1992. The then-24-year-old Cox was a producer/reporter for WKYT-TV (Channel 27), WLEX's top rival. A Campbellsville native and 1990 Miss Kentucky winner, she announced her retirement in 2023 after 31 years. At one time she was married to her co-anchor, Tom Kenny. When she retired, the popular local TV personality said she is “starting a new life” with her fiance and will be splitting her time between New York, Florida and Kentucky, where her two adult children live. Charles Bertram Herald-Leader staff file photo
Form left, associate producer Kristin Hargis with anchors Tom Ackerman and Dia Davidson during WLEX-18’s morning news show in 2003. During her nearly 23 years at the station, Davidson anchored virtually every newscast but was mainly known for LEX 18 News at Sunrise. She left the station in 2023 to become the Chief Public Engagement Officer for Fayette County Public Schools. Charles Bertram Herald-Leader staff file photo
Television anchors of WLEX-TV Channel 18 in 2005. From left to right: Meteorologist Bill Meck, News Anchor Kevin Christopher, News Anchor Nancy Cox and Sports Anchor Ryan Lemond. Christopher spent 20 years of his 40-year career at WLEX, starting at the station in 2000 and retiring 20 years later. Meck, one of Lexington’s most popular meteorologists, has been at the station for more than 27 years, starting in 1999. He frequently visits local schools for his Bill’s Weather 101 program, teaching students the science of meteorology. Lemond was at LEX-18 for 12 years and is now a popular personality for Kentucky Sports Radio. Provided
Sportscaster Alan Cutler in the WLEX-18 newsroom, Dec. 5, 1981, his first year at the station. He was at the station from 1981 to 1984, then, after three years in Pittsburgh, including a stint as a color commentator for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he returned to WLEX in 1987 and retired as the sports director in May 2018. Cutler also served as host on the Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network for 14 years. He currently hosts a local sports-talk radio show. Frank Anderson Herald-Leader staff file photo
Meteorologist Brad James in 1979 while at WKYT. The popular local TV personality spent most of his weather career at WTVQ ABC-36. Retiring in 2008, James was known for a calm weather voice but also a sense of humor on and off the air. He would have prank weather segments on April Fools' Days. And one time he blew up a surplus computer live on the air, shortly after telling the audience it was a newly designed piece of forecasting equipment that would predict the weather a year in advance. Herald-Leader file photo
WTVQ-36 sportscaster Kenny Rice in the editing room, July 12, 1982. Rice, a native of Floyd County in Eastern Kentucky, became sports director at WTVQ after graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1980. He was there until 1999, when he went to NBC, where he since covered horse racing, including the Triple Crown races and the Breeders’ Cup. David Perry Herald-Leader staff
WTVQ-TV anchor John Lindgren, right, talks with Channel 36 production manager Keith Combs and co-anchor Alexa Gromko, while opening some fan mail at his desk on June 23, 1999. Lindgren had been away after being diagnosed with cancer. The popular longtime Lexington TV newscaster whose Christian beliefs helped him in his public and private battles with cancer, died from the disease in 2001. Lindgren co-anchored the news at ABC-36 for 11 years. His on-camera demeanor never betrayed his ordeal, although Mr. Lindgren's struggles were often evident to viewers, who watched as his physical appearance changed because of various treatments. "He faced his battle head-on, and he faced it in the view of every eye in the public," said Gromko, Lindgren co-anchor for four years. Lindgren joined WKYT-TV (Channel 27) in Lexington in January 1979. He stayed at Channel 27 until 1987, went to Nashville for 18 months and then came back to Lexington for his job at Channel 36. During his years as an anchor, he became one of the most recognizable faces in the Bluegrass. Daniel Wallace Herald-Leader file photo
This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
Brian Simms has been with the Herald-Leader for 20-plus years, most recently reporting and editing coverage of restaurants, bars, food and bourbon. He is also a photographer and manages the newspapers photo archive that dates back to the late 1930s.Support my work with a digital subscription
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