外网天堂

漏 2025 漏 2024 外网天堂
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Casey Nolen says goodbye to St. Louis

Casey Nolen, shown moderating the March 2021 St. Louis mayoral debate, is leaving St. Louis for a job in D.C.
David Kovaluk
/
漏 2024 外网天堂
Casey Nolen, shown moderating the March 2021 St. Louis mayoral debate, is leaving St. Louis for a job in D.C.

Last week, St. Louis celebrated 鈥淐asey Nolen Day,鈥 complete with a proclamation by Mayor Tishaura Jones. After 15 years at NBC affiliate KSDK, most recently as political editor and anchor, Nolen had announced he was leaving his native Missouri for a job in Washington, D.C. The accolades streamed in.

But Nolen had no idea the one from the mayor was coming. He went to City Hall to interview Jones 鈥 and interview her he did. He was shocked when she presented him with the proclamation at the end.

There was no time to celebrate afterward, no Champagne toast. Nolen said he simply went back to work, getting his interview ready for airtime. He had an extra assignment as well 鈥 preparing the footage of his own proclamation for broadcast. 鈥淚 had to cut the video myself because they wanted to run it on air,鈥 he said, laughing.

Nolen grew up in Chaffee, Missouri, a small town outside Cape Girardeau. He told St. Louis on the Air that when he headed to Columbia to attend the University of Missouri, he thought it was the big city. Back then, Missouri鈥檚 Bootheel was governed by Democrats.

He didn鈥檛 attend Mizzou鈥檚 acclaimed journalism school, but journalism still found him. He鈥檇 noticed a job advertisement in the communications department.

鈥淭hey had a sign hanging on the wall looking for camera operators, and I needed a job,鈥 he explained. 鈥淪o I went out there and the next thing I knew I was shooting news and sucked in and got bit by the news biz.鈥

Listen to Casey Nolen (and Abby Llorico) on St. Louis on the Air

That鈥檚 not the only thing he鈥檚 been bitten by. Nolen is heading to Washington with his fiancee, reporter Abby Llorico, whom he met on the job at KSDK. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I would fall for the guy who was showing me how to use my camera,鈥 she quipped.

In addition to his reporting and anchoring duties at KSDK, Nolen hosted a local affairs talk show on Nine PBS for five years, 鈥淪tay Tuned STL.鈥 But he didn鈥檛 just start his career operating a camera; he continues to operate one, shooting most of his stories himself.

Nolen was actually the first reporter in St. Louis to be hired as an MMJ, or multimedia journalist, the term given to reporters who shoot their own stories using much smaller cameras than the behemoths the industry used to rely on. Today, MMJs are everywhere, even in Top 10 markets. Nolen estimates he shoots 90% of his stories, and he plans to keep working as a 鈥渂ackpack journalist鈥 in Washington.

He shrugged off the seismic shifts that allowed him to transition from being behind the camera in his first two markets to standing in front of it in St. Louis. 鈥淎sk any industry and their jobs are changing,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here's one of our favorite sandwich shops 鈥 you order your sandwich at a kiosk, not from a person. Things are changing.鈥

He feels fortunate that the timing of those changes have favored his career and seems almost gobsmacked by the good fortune of having found, and fallen in love with, Llorico. Their wedding is planned for this summer.

But first, they have to get to Washington, where they鈥檒l both work at local news station WASU. They plan to be there by Wednesday, and so as Nolen joined St. Louis on the Air for his St. Louis exit interview, Llorico was busily packing up their home.

Calling into the show, Llorico said she doesn鈥檛 chafe at the division of labor.

鈥淭he TV world, he鈥檚 really good at video, and I鈥檓 really good at production, and that鈥檚 how it works at home, too,鈥 Llorico said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 good at the going-out-into-the-world stuff, and I鈥檓 good at keeping the house running.鈥

And Nolen acknowledged that he鈥檚 perfected the art of getting his part done with minutes to spare. On his last day at KSDK, rather than milk the goodbyes, he worked until the clock had nearly run out of time, finishing his last St. Louis piece with moments to spare.

鈥淚t wasn't a lot of hugs and tears because I was on deadline,鈥 he recalled. 鈥淎nd you can ask anyone 鈥 I like to say I use every minute possible. They might say I unnecessarily stressed the entire team. But nevertheless, we made slot.鈥

鈥 brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by and produced by , and . Jane Mather-Glass is our production assistant. The audio engineer is .

Stay Connected
Sarah Fenske served as host of St. Louis on the Air from July 2019 until June 2022. Before that, she spent twenty years in newspapers, working as a reporter, columnist and editor in Cleveland, Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles and St. Louis.