One news anchor broke down in tears as she presented an item no broadcaster would ever hope to cover.
Appearing on NBC affiliate KCEN 6 News last week, Lindsay Liepman’s devastation was clear as she informed viewers of the death of her beloved co-anchor and friend.
Kris Radcliffe worked for the TV station for 22 years before he died unexpectedly at the age of 51.
The California native began working for the Central Texas station in 2002 as a sports anchor before he transitioned to anchoring the evening news in 2018.
Her voice filled with pain and grief, Liepman broke the news to those watching at home as she praised her late colleague for how much ‘fun’ they had together.
‘This is an incredibly sad day for our KCEN family,’ she began, tearing up.
‘My co-anchor Kris Radcliffe died unexpectedly, and we received the news today,’ she shared.
‘Kris sat in the chair right beside me and he was the best, he was simply the best.’
On the type of person Radcliffe was, she said: ‘Funny, genuine and smart, I looked forward to working with Kris every single night and I think you all could tell at home.
‘We had fun here. Kris loved this community and never took his role for granted.’
‘If I had known yesterday was going to be our last newscast together, I would have ignored the cues to wrap from our producers and just laughed a little longer at all of his jokes,’ Liepman said lovingly.
‘He always has lots of jokes.’
Radcliffe is survived by his wife, Eden, and their two daughters, plus two grandchildren.
‘He always had a new story every time he came into the newsroom about his grandkids,’ said Liepman.
Overwhelmed with sadness, Liepman apologised to viewers as she was unable to finish speaking.
‘I simply cannot get through the newscast tonight and I hope you understand.’
‘This is a true loss for our community, his family, and I know that he touched so many of your lives in a positive way,’ Liepman concluded.
‘I think it was an honour for him to do this job, it was an honour for us to work with Kris.’
KCEN’s sister station in Austin then took over the telecast, while KCEN aired a highlights reel of Radcliffe’s career to pay their respects.
Following Radcliffe’s untimely death, his wife expressed her thanks for everyone’s support via her sister, Libby.
‘On behalf of my sister, she wanted me to relay to you our profound thanks for the tremendous outpouring of love and support for her girls, their girls, and families,’ Libby wrote.
‘She’s receiving and reading your texts and posts, but it’s simply too difficult to respond at this time.’
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