NewsChannel 5's Jim Sackett answers questions from the WPTV Facebook friends

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Posted: 11/18/2011

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -

NewsChannel 5's Jim Sackett is getting ready to leave the anchor desk after 33 years at WPTV. Jim took the time to answer questions he received from our Facebook friends. He will answer others in a live web chat on Monday at 3:00 p.m. on wptv.com.

Q&A with Jim Sackett:

Moe Queen: What has been the most memorable interview or newscasts you've ever done?

Jim: "I don't think there has been one memorable interview...there have been so many. If I had to choose, it would be Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams the week before Brokaw stepped down and Williams slipped into the Nightly News anchor chair. Newscasts? Perhaps covering those hurricanes...on the set, middle of the night, the wind blowing, the rain pounding and the studio light swaying wondering when it would be over."

Elsie Ortiz: What is the most memorable broadcast in your career and what would be your advice to the next generation of broadcasters?

Jim: "Probably on the air during the hurricanes...middle of the night and you could hear the wind blowing, the rain pounding and the lights in the studio swaying. One thing will never change...be able to write. That is the key to this business. The other is learn how to shoot and edit your own stories. That is the new normal in television news coverage."

Farrah Calender: Where does he tan at?

Jim: "I play a lot of softball...like to fish...and have had a convertible for a number of years. "

Capt. Craig: Why the rug all those years back? I'm glad you took it off.

Jim: "It was a relief for me, too. It was what the consultants wanted at the time. They were of the opinion (I am convinced) that the one on-air credibility was directly proportional to the amount of hair you had on your head!!"

John G. Wallace: What is the biggest change in television news since he got his start. Is it in terms of technology or society?

Jim: "Technology has seen the biggest change...being able to go anywhere, anytime, even at the local level. The landscape for us has changed considerably with the internet and instant communication. Newscasts, for the most part, are not appointment television anymore. Many people go to the internet, iPads, iPhones, etc., day or night for the latest information. It makes our job in television that much harder."

Athena Avendano: Since you've become such a huge part of several people's lives, how will you keep in touch once in awhile to let us know how you are?

Jim: "Good question. Haven't really thought about that. There might be the possibility of doing some work for the station...specials, election coverage. That has yet to be worked out."

Christy Stephens: What will you be doing now, Jim, to enjoy your retirement?

Jim: " Hopefully playing more softball. Love the game. (And yes I am as slow as I look!!) Some fishing, some travel. Whatever strikes my fancy."

Joe Piechota: What do you think you would have done had you not followed the path to journalism?

Jim: "I have been asked this before and still have not come up with a good answer because I have been in the business so long (48 years since I walked into a radio station!!). I wanted to be an architect and would have been comfortable...except for the math!!!!! "

Monique Maxwell Wilkinson: Which Thursday's child do you still wonder about?

Jim: "A little boy I profiled about ten years ago. He was three or four at time. He was a healthy normal little boy until then when he became the victim of shaken baby syndrome. He would never be the same."

Stephen Belton: What are you going to miss the most about not being on the air?

Jim: "The people at NewsChannel 5. They become your second family. In fact, there was a time when I would see my co-workers more in a given week than my wife and children."

Jennifer San Filippo: What was your funniest on-air blooper?

Jim: "When I was doing a story on a suspect police were looking for. His name may have been John Smith ...also known as "Bubba". For whatever reason it struck me as so funny. Trying not to laugh on the air...trying to keep your composure...only leads to more trouble...like snorting. Kelley was sitting next to me and she lost it, too."

Miguel Orama:

I would ask him, Mr. Jim Sackett would you be willing to do this all over again? Meaning the TV reporting? He has hung in there like many other anchors and reporters and has done it the best.

Jim: "Yes, I would do this again...in a heartbeat. With one caveat...that I have the knowledge I do now after 33 years at WPTV. That would be interesting."