Devin Scillian
Detroit’s WDIV lost a number of talented individuals in the latest round of acquisitions, effective July 1. They included sportscaster Bernie Smilovitz and reporters Rod Meloni, Mara MacDonald, Paula Tutman and Tim Pamplin.
Rumor has it that 61-year-old presenter Devin Scillian took over the show at the time, but did not leave.
Now Smilovitz, who appears on Tuesday’s ML Soul of Detroit podcast, tells host and investigative columnist ML Elrick of the Detroit Free Press:
“The word is that Devin has made it and will be out after the election. He’s been holding things up here for a while.”
Smilovitz said 32 of 35 people accepted the severance package.
An industry observer told Deadline Detroit that the rumor about Scilian appears to be true.
Scillian, who just finished covering the Summer Olympics in Paris for WDIV, did not respond to a text message seeking comment Tuesday.
Scillian joined WDIV as a reporter in August 1995 and was promoted to anchor in 1996. He has won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award three times.
After graduating from the University of Kansas’ William Allen White School of Journalism in 1985, Scillian started at WIBW-TV in Topeka. He then moved on to WAND in Decatur, Illinois, KLTV in Tyler, Texas, and KFOR in Oklahoma City, where his round-the-clock coverage of the 1995 Murrah Federal Building bombing helped the station win a Peabody Award, according to the station’s biography.
He is the author of 15 children’s books, including “A is for America” which became a national bestseller. In 2004, Laura Bush invited him to read at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House.
The biography also states:
Devin is an accomplished musician and songwriter and has won the prestigious Detroit Music Award for Best Country Artist. He has released three albums of his own songs. He and his band Arizona Son regularly perform on the summer concert tour. He has opened for Toby Keith, Reba McEntire and LeAnn Rimes.
