For much of May, my good friend and longtime co-anchor Denise D’Ascenzo worked tirelessly on a special report: a celebration of my 20th anniversary here at WFSB. At times, I can’t even believe 2012 will mark two decades since my first report as a 20-something at Channel 3 after leaving WWMT, the CBS station in Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, Michigan. Even though I’ve covered countless stories and anchored hundreds, perhaps thousands of newscasts since 1992, I was impressed by how Denise managed to pull so many classic clips, including from a period when it appears I had a mullet!
Truth be told, my actual anniversary falls on August 31st, but with summer vacations, primaries, etc., we figured it was best to mark the milestone now. I should note, we’d be lying if we said it was just a coincidence the flashback aired during May sweeps!
It has been a great twenty years here at WFSB and I truly feel blessed to have been in a job this long, and still love what I do: broadcast journalism. I’ve have the fortune of being assigned to cover national political conventions, the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995, UConn’s historic Final Four win in 1999, a visit of a Pope, and the Pope’s funeral. I immediately went to lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001 and stayed there for a few weeks. Eight and half years earlier I stood in front of the Twin Towers after a truck bomb exploded in a garage. I’ve been on the field at a World Series, sat across from Oprah, and been in inner city neighborhoods as gunfire went off. I once even ran through a snake infested field while covering wildfires in Florida with a young field producer named Dana Luby, who is now my boss!
Most importantly, I met my wife Kara here at Channel 3, and became a father two times. Both of my children began their entrance into this world after the 6PM news. When I wasn’t on the air at 11 those nights, viewers knew something was up. It truly has been quite a ride.
To our devoted and loyal viewers, thank you for watching and commenting over the years. Without your support, my bosses wouldn’t have kept me this long! I should also thank my many co-workers and co-anchors, who always made me look good. I’d be remiss not to mention the person who hired me, Mark Effron.
I first anchored with Denise in 1994, and then off and on over the next five years. We became permanent co-anchors in 1999, and have been together ever since, making us the longest current anchor team in Connecticut. Gayle King and I co-anchored Eyewitness News at 5:30 for four years before she left for O Magazine. I also shared the desk with Virginia Cha, Mika Brzezinski and Janet Peckinpaugh, and with Kara numerous times in the past decade.
Here are some other pictures from the past 20!
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Dennis House blog 
Isn’t wonderful to have a job that you love so very much., congratulations !! 20 years seem to go by in a blink of the eye., hope the next 20 go a little slower. lol
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Reblogged this on REAL MEDIA and commented:
Although I am dating myself here, I’ve known Dennis for most of these 20 years. He is a great journalist and more importantly, an amazing person and friend. He is one of the good guys. Congrats, my friend. Connecticut is lucky to have him.
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Good enough….lol….congratulations!!!
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I really respect your reporting and feel that you are no way biased and you and your wife Kara are awesome together..even when you are co-anchors there is always professionalism. Love knowing that you are married and always are professional on air. I so respect that you both must have an amazing marriage with two children. Kudos to you both
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Congrats Dennis 20yea is an accomplishment in any media job
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Congratulations on 20 years, Dennis! You are the best of the best in Connecticut News. Never miss it!! And you and Kara are so professional, love you both!!! Can’t wait for you & Kara to celebrate 25 years together as husband & wife.
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Dennis, Congratulations! You are the best of the best in the Media world! While living in Farmington, we always chose CH 3 News – it was the best! Mornings began with CH 3 Programming and would continue on through the day! We are now living in NC and we miss our CH 3 Family very much!
Dennis, Kara and family, keep smiling and may God continue to bless y’all!
Dennis, I really appreciate your nightly updates on CT happenings! Thanks so very much!
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Must have been that good Assumption College foundation that led to this solid, successful career !
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Congrats Dennis!!! Hope you are with us for another 20. Channel 3 is our only station because of people like you. 🙂
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Dennis, Congratulations on 20 years of wonderful news broadcasting. I wish you, Kara and family all the very best.
P.S. It’s always great to see you also at Whole Foods : )
Linda Marks
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Congratulations Dennis. What a beautiful tribute Denise put together for you. I just love the sense of family on Channel 3.it’s the only news station my husband and i watch, and time of day. You and Kara have a beautiful family. God Bless, and Good Luck to all of you!
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Isn’t it weird that you pay tribute to yourself in your own blog, and that the station would devote resources to stroking your ego by doing a big piece on you and taking valuable time away from actual news stories? I guess it’s true what everyone says about you.
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Actually, it is part of our master plan to illicit negative responses from people afraid to sign their names to their comments. Thank you for your cooperation. Denise received dozens of heartwarming comments on the piece she did on my tenure at WFSB, and it is nice to have at least one nasty rant to go with them. Thank you again.
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Congatulations Dennis, Wishing you many more years!!
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Hi Dennis congratulation on such a big accomplishment. I used to watch wfsb channel 3 for the past 14 years. I recently move back to New York. Not to worry i still see the news on the website. Give your lovely wife my best.
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