There was a time when the people who brought us the local news were stars. This was particularly true in smaller cities and towns where the local TV anchor, weatherman or show host was instantly recognizable, conspicuous by his or her presence at local events. They were the parade grand marshals, the masters of ceremonies and the judges at a variety of local competitions.

One of those TV celebrities here in the Golden Triangle was Bill Gamel, who spent a remarkable 50 years at WCBI-TV, enjoying a popularity that rivaled even kids’ show icon Uncle Bunky.

Almost a decade after his retirement, Gamel’s name remained instantly recognizable to those who lived in the Golden Triangle during those years.

His death triggered fond memories, not only of him but also of the era in which he worked.

The long, slow transition from the golden age of local TV news to what we see today began in the 1960s and continued well into the 2010s. Bill Gamel was there for it all, beginning in 1967 when WCBI still operated out of a little outbuilding in a pasture. He was co-anchors of Midday with Jeffrey Rupp beginning in the mid-80s and later helped start Sunrise, which he co-anchored first with Charla Stegall and later with Aundrea Self.

To understand what Gamel came to personify, you have to go back to that time.

In the 1960s, television was a three-channel universe. Local TV stations affiliated with CBS, NBC or ABC for their national and world news. The local newscasts, usually at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., were communal events. Everyone got the same TV news at the same time every day. The market penetration seems almost unbelievable today. During the peak era, from the 1960s to the 1980s, the Big Three networks and their local affiliates captured more than 90% of the viewing audience. The people who brought us local news, sports and weather were familiar faces we welcomed into our homes.

By Gamel’s retirement in 2017, viewing habits had evolved far beyond what could have been imagined in that simpler era. At the time of Gamel’s retirement, 37% of Americans said they followed local news broadcasts closely. Today, TV news viewership has dwindled to 21%.

The change began with the birth of cable news, CNN, in 1980. For the first time, viewers didn’t have to wait for the network news to find out what was happening. While it took a few years to gain traction, it broke the monopoly local stations had on visual information. By the end of the decade, Big Three dominance began to crumble due to the rise of specialized cable channels, such as ESPN and MTV, and the introduction of the VCR, which allowed people to skip commercials and watch recorded shows whenever they wanted rather than tuning in for the live news.

By the mid-1990s, the internet had become a household staple. By 1998, two-thirds of local TV stations were officially reporting a steady decline in viewership for the first time in history.

The release of the iPhone in 2007 and the rise of social media, including Facebook and Twitter, moved local breaking news from the television screen to the pocket. People began receiving alerts about a local fire or weather warning hours before the evening news could broadcast it.

The people who bring us the news on local stations today may be recognizable by name or appearance, but they no longer give off the celebrity aura of their predecessors.

So we bid a fond farewell to Bill Gamel, who takes with him nostalgic memories of an earlier time.

Gamel’s signature closing line on TV seems an appropriate sign-off for the man and the era:

“Be kind to one another.”

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.