Colleagues, friends, and students honor ‘solid rock’ of Central Texas journalism

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Tributes are pouring in from journalists and friends, young and old, all around the country following the sudden and unexpected passing of KWTX Managing Editor Rick Bradfield, 66, whose career spanned 45 years in Waco.

“Bradfield” - as he was affectionately known in our newsroom - died Thursday morning at his home in Lorena from what is believed to be a heart attack.

While he hadn’t been feeling well for a few months, in true Bradfield fashion, the dedicated newsman being remembered today as a “pioneer,” a “legend,” and a “giant of a man,” worked until the day he died.

“Rick has been the solid rock of journalism in the KWTX-TV newsroom for decades,” said Virgil Teter, retired vice president of KWTX News.

Bradfield came to Waco by way of Colorado when he packed his bags up at the age of 17 in the summer of 1972 to attend Baylor University.

He graduated from Baylor in 1976 and accepted a job just weeks later at KWTX.

While he could have worked anywhere in the world and in the biggest of markets by industry standards, he dedicated his life and brilliance to educating, advocating for, and improving the lives of Central Texans.

In May 2021, we celebrated his 45-year anniversary at KWTX, and while posting anything on social media was not characteristic for the quiet man who shied away from attention, he wrote about his illustrious career that reads more like a movie.

“Here I am, after more than four decades of long days, late nights, missed weekends, too many cigarettes and almost enough coffee, and I’m still standing,” Bradfield wrote. “I’ve been threatened, cursed, sued, deposed, interrogated and pinned against a pickup truck by a 1,500-pound buffalo.”

Bradfield wore many hats while at KWTX, but the majority of his career was spent as the news director.

He was leading the newsroom when the Branch Davidian siege happened just outside of Waco and sent out the first crews in February of 1993. That event greatly impacted his life and is something he talked about often over the years.

Bradfield recently reflected on his involvement in some of the biggest news stories in Central Texas.

“I saw the first lick of flame leap from the Branch Davidian compound, and I heard the first chilling calls for help after the deadly explosion at the fertilizer plant in West. I’ve chased tornadoes, flown fast and low in helicopters and tried not to puke in small planes,” he wrote.

“My phone was tapped once, and as a bonus, I got free call waiting afterward. I’ve interviewed hookers and strippers, politicians of all persuasions, fuming farmers, angry taxpayers, KKK Kleagles, anti-nuclear protesters, Bob Hope, LBJ’s brother, Gloria Steinem, the father of the hydrogen bomb and some original members of the Texas Playboys. I once produced a congressional debate that aired statewide and on C-SPAN while crouched with two stopwatches and a legal pad in a dark corner of a tiny campus TV station control room.”

Former KWTX photographer Drew Douglas said Bradfield was “like the mental image I always had of a real journalist from the movies.”

But he was the real-life deal.

Bradfield was a man of few words but when he spoke people listened. He had the highest of ethical journalistic standards and, in a world of journalism shifting to who breaks the news first, he always insisted we had to be first, but we also had to be right.

“This one hit me like a sledgehammer,” said Bob Darden, a Baylor journalism professor and longtime friend. “There are few people I’ve known longer or respected more than Rick Bradfield. A giant of a human being.”

Those Bradfield mentored were shocked and heartbroken by news of his passing Thursday.

“Bradfield hired me 32 years ago as a cub reporter and weekend weatherman,” said current evening anchor Gordon Collier. “I wouldn’t still be in the business if it weren’t for him.”

KWTX News Anchor Lauren Westbrook left KWTX to work in Louisiana but returned to Waco mostly because of him.

Beloved KWTX weatherman Rusty Garrett said his friend of more than 30 years spoke softly but his words “carried great weight among all of us.”

“Rick basically ensured KWTX would produce top-class journalism even with a bunch of rookies on camera like me and so many others,” former KWTX weekend anchor Ryan Kelly said. “He taught us what good journalists should be and did it with a soft touch.”

“Heartbroken,” wrote Sarah Bey, a former producer and current employee at the Methodist Children’s Home.

For years, Rick approved reporter scripts, meaning his desk was the last line of defense before copy went to air.

His standards were high.

It was normal to get work back with many corrections and, more importantly, additional questions he wanted answered.

“He could meticulously re-write a reporter’s script even until the last possible moment right before a show and although you would be fearful of missing a deadline, the better story he crafted was always worth the extra stress,” said former KWTX journalist Annie Blanco.

While many Rick trained went on to anchor, produce, report and shoot stories at markets of all sizes, including at the network level, others took jobs outside of broadcasting.

Regardless, what they learned from Bradfield was just as valuable.

Sharon Mayo Parker, who worked at KWTX from 1998 to 2006 and now works as the marketing and sales director for Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor, said Bradfield’s guidance and influence never waned.

“When I think about everything I am with my career today, I can’t help but incorporate how Bradfield helped mold me into a person with integrity and respect for the ability to share someone’s story or skill,” Parker said.

“I cherish, to this day, those moments he told me ‘good job.’ He was the benchmark for solid, good journalism and I’m forever grateful to have learned so much from him.”

Bradfield was in the infancy of creating KWTX.com and he obsessed over making sure he was providing the best news online on a daily basis.

He inherited the website in the mid 2000s as a page which posted one story every few weeks and he grew it into the most viewed website in Central Texas.

In addition to news, one of Bradfield’s greatest joys was teaching. He led the station’s internship department for years and he shared his brilliance outside of our building.

Bradfield was an adjunct professor at Baylor for 25 years, currently teaching in the school’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media.

Baylor students posted many tributes saying he was their favorite professor.

Vanessa Salas is a student at McLennan Community College. She said Bradfield picked her for a scholarship at MCC but he didn’t stop at just selecting her.

“The one who chose me for my scholarship and actually emailed me weekly,” she wrote when sharing the news of his passing. “Thank you for choosing me and may you rest in peace.”

Bradfield leaves behind a son, Rob, who was his pride and joy. He followed in his dad’s footsteps during college becoming the editor-in-chief of the Baylor Lariat in 2012.

Rob said his dad was humble and never talked of his accomplishments or grasped the impact he’s had on so many.

“Old newsmen are notoriously brief and often downplay their own contributions and achievements out of a sense that nothing they’ve done is ever going to be better than the next story they write,” Rob said.

Former KWTX Executive Producer Ashley Lowell Doussard may have put it best. She got her start under Bradfield, sharing a workspace with him from 2006-2010.

Doussard made the then unusual jump from Waco to Dallas to become an executive producer at NBC 5.

“When I left KWTX for Dallas, I told him I didn’t know what I was going to do when I didn’t have him to turn to anymore. His response, which was very typical Bradfield, was ‘oh, there’s one of me in every newsroom.’”

“I can tell you, unequivocally, there is not, sir. And we’re all better for having known you.”

Yes, Bradfield, we are.

And there will never be another one like you.

We are lucky you were our mentor, and our friend and Central Texas is lucky to have had you as its voice for nearly half a century.

Bradfield leaves behind his son, Rob, his sister, Nancy, and his loving partner, Dr. Cassy Burleson.

His beloved wife Lisa passed away in 2012.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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