[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8515-S8516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO DAVE NAKDIMEN
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Dave
Nakdimen, an outstanding newsman, who retired after a wonderful career
in television news.
Dave served the Louisville area for 36 years on WAVE television news.
Dave was born in London, KY, and became interested in journalism by
listening to the radio at an early age. After years of listening to
political news and election-night returns, Dave decided to study
journalism at the University of Kentucky. After graduation in 1955, he
took a job as a sports writer with the Lexington Leader. While working
in Lexington, he met his future wife, Wanda, who was moving to
Louisville to take a job at a local hospital. After they became
engaged, they packed their bags and headed to Louisville, where Dave
landed a job at WAVE-TV. The rest is history.
WAVE was his first job in broadcast media. Dave was assigned to cover
city hall, and there he met and interviewed some of the most important
men and women in the last half of this century. Dave covered the civil
rights movement of the 1960's, where he interviewed Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. during an open-housing march. He also interviewed Ronald
Reagan, George Bush, David Brinkley, John Wayne, and countless other
memorable personalities.
Dave won't be resting during his retirement, though; he's returning
to WAVE-TV after a brief vacation to produce weekly commentaries for
the station's 6 o'clock newscasts. When asked by the the Courier-
Journal if he would repeat his experience in journalism, Mr. Nakdimen
responded: ``I think so. I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of hard
work, but it was a lot of fun, too.'' Dave's colleagues also remember
him fondly. Kathy Beck, the news director at WAVE-TV, said Dave is ``a
man of great integrity'' throughout the news world.
All those who know Dave know that he gives his endeavors his all. He
is a deacon at his church, and he shows intense faithfulness in
supporting his beloved University of Kentucky Wildcat
[[Page S8516]]
basketball team. Dave's retirement means he will be able to do more of
the things he loves, including spending time with his wife, Wanda, and
his daughter, Suzanne.
Mr. President, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in paying
tribute to the career of Dave Nakdimen. It surely has been a memorable
one.
Mr. President, in the world of television news it is extremely
difficult to develop expertise in covering politics. Most of the
political reporters that we deal with who are really talented in
covering what the occupant of the Chair and myself do everyday tend to
be in print journalism.
There is one real exception to that: Dave Nakdimen. Dave was the only
expert political reporter I ever met in local television. He had a
distinguished career. We will all miss him greatly. He is a man of
great principle, a personal friend. I remember meeting him when I was
in my twenties sitting in the office of a local official in Jefferson
County, that is, Louisville, KY. He was doing his job then. He is a
superb individual, a fine man with deep religious convictions who will
be missed in the reporting of political news in my hometown.
Mr. President, I wish Dave Nakdimen well in his retirement years.
I ask unanimous consent that an article from The Courier-Journal be
printed in the Congressional Record.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Louisville Courier-Journal, July 11, 1997]
WAVE's Nakdimen Is Retiring After 3 Decades
(By Tom Dorsey)
Today is the last day on the job for WAVE reporter Dave
Nakdimen after 36 years.
``I plopped down here in 1961 and have been in the same
spot ever since,'' said Nakdimen. The soft-spoken journalist
with the dry sense of humor has been a fixture on the local
TV scene.
``He's a wonderful guy and clever writer,'' said WAVE
colleague Jackie Hays. ``If I had a question on anything--but
especially politics--I knew he'd know the answer.''
Nekdimen, 64, probably holds the record for the most years
as a TV reporter in Louisville.
He remembers covering political races in which candidates
ran as segregationist. He recalls interviewing the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. during an open-housing march in the
'60s.
After the interview Nakdimen discovered that the sound
system wasn't working. ``So when King came around the block
again, we asked him if he'd do the interview over and he was
nice enough to do it.''
On another day Nakdimen was assigned to do one of those
worst-intersection-in-town stories.
``As I was standing there shooting the film, an accident
happened right in front of me that perfectly illustrated the
traffic problem,'' Nakdimen said. ``I ran back to the station
knowing what a great story I had, opened the camera and found
there was no film in it.''
Most days went better than that for the man who was born in
St. Charles, Va. He grew up in London, Ky., listening to
election-night returns and political conventions on radio.
That's what got him interested in the news. When he
graduated from London High School, he went on to study
journalism at the University of Kentucky, where he graduated
in 1955.
His first job was writing sports for the Lexington Leader,
the former afternoon newspaper. He almost connected with a
job at The Courier-Journal. Along the way he became engaged
to his future wife, Wanda. She was a nurse who was taking a
job in Louisville, so he found one here too.
``WAVE (radio and TV) was looking for somebody to cover
City Hall,'' he said. ``I had never worked a day on radio or
TV in my life, but I decided to take a shot at it.''
The rest is history--36 years of it on the job and in the
marriage.
The first two weeks on the job, he met David Brinkley and
Ronald Reagan. ``It was fun to talk with John Wayne, sit down
with George Bush or chase Hubert Humphrey around,'' he said.
But there were other stories, too, many of them tragic. ``I
think the Standard Gravure (1989 shootings) stands out in my
mind as the story I will never forget.'' The 1974 tornado
that ravaged large parts of Louisville is a close second.
What's changed the most about TV news?
``Oh, it's the technology without a doubt,'' Nakdimen said.
When he began working at WAVE, stories were covered with a
Polaroid camera. Film came along a few years later, but it
was grainy black and white.
``Color followed, then small, live cameras and satellites
and now digital television is on the way,'' Nakdimen said.
``There's so much production to a TV newscast today,
especially with the emphasis on live coverage.'' It's a far
cry from the news he saw as a boy in London.
Nakdimen Remembers NBC's John Cameron Swayze and CBS'
Douglas Edwards doing 15-minute nightly newscasts in
television's early days. ``They just sat in front of a camera
and read the news; it was pretty much radio on TV,'' he said.
In many ways the last 36 years has zipped by like a tape on
fast-forward. But Nakdimen won't be leaving it all behind.
``I'll still be doing a once-a-week commentary for WAVE and
some political and election analysis to keep my hand in,'' he
said.
Would Nakdimen do those 36 years over again?
``I think so. I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of hard
work, but it was a lot of fun too.''
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________