Charles Tracy Rowlett (; born June 16, 1942), known professionally as Tracy Rowlett, is an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, formerly anchor and managing editor of the CBS owned and operated station in Dallas-Fort Worth,

KTVT KTVT (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, broadcasting CBS programming to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent outl ...

. Rowlett's last broadcast with KTVT was at 5pm on July 11, 2008. He moved to a start-up web news site called Shale.TV, focusing on the development of natural gas plays across the U.S. The site was owned by Branded News of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, but sponsored by

Chesapeake Energy Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

. In October 2008, prior to start up, Chesapeake withdrew funding and the site folded. Rowlett earned his bachelor's degree from

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, and received his master's degree from the

University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas. It is one of the largest public universities in the Dallas area and the northernmost institution of the University of Texas system. It w ...

. He began his career as a

sports reporter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

for the '' Wichita Beacon'' in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

. He later served in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

, where he was editor of the base newspaper. He was later transferred to

Wheelus Air Base Wheelus Air Base was a United States Air Force base located in British-occupied Libya and the Kingdom of Libya from 1943 to 1970. At one time it was the largest US military facility outside the US. It had an area of on the coast of Tripoli. T ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, where he worked for Armed Forces Radio and Television. When

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

was assassinated, Rowlett was still serving at Tripoli, and broke the news of the assassination to that part of the middle east. Over the next three days and nights, he reported events surrounding the assassination,

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

's murder, and President Kennedy's funeral. After Rowlett's military discharge, he worked at KFH radio, and as news director for

KAKE KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and its transmitter is located in ...

radio and television in Wichita. He went on to become news director at

KMNS KMNS (620 AM) is a radio station in Sioux City, Iowa, United States, broadcasting a sports format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and affiliated with its Fox Sports Radio network. iHeart's studios in Sioux City are located on Nebraska Ave ...

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

, and later as the State Capitol correspondent for

KTOK KTOK (1000 AM) is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City and airs a talk radio format. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., and licensed as iHM Licenses, LLC. The studios and offices are in the 50 Penn Place Building on the northwest side of ...

Radio in

, and the

Oklahoma News Network Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

. In April 1974, he moved to the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

/ Fort Worth area, working as an

investigative reporter Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

for

WFAA WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29), ...

. In August, 1975, he was teamed with

Iola Johnson Iola Vivian Johnson (born October 10, 1950)"Iola Vivian Johnson" in ''Who's Who Among African Americans'', 23rd edition Gale, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2010. was the second African-American news anchor for a Dallas television station. Career Johnso ...

to anchor the 6 and 10 p.m. news. Tracy left WFAA in 1999 to become the main anchor at KTVT (CBS11), where he and Iola would team up again for the station's inaugural 4pm newscast from September 2000-September 2002. Tracy Rowlett received more than 100 awards during his career, including two duPont-Columbia Awards, several Emmy Awards, as well as various

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

awards. He is very involved in the Dallas/Fort Worth community, serving on various boards for local organizations, and has received many community awards for his charity works.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlett, Tracy American television journalists People from Franklin County, Texas Wichita State University alumni University of Texas at Dallas alumni Living people 1942 births American male journalists Journalists from Texas