Rochelle Riley

Detroit Free Press Columnist

Carmen Harlan has been on duty for 38 years.

The WDIV-TV Local 4 senior anchor has been as much a part of Detroit history as Sanders Hot Fudge and Faygo soda. She has outlasted football coaches, baseball managers, several companies and most local fads.

A proud, defiant, lifelong Detroiter, she has been the lens through which many Detroiters have seen nearly every tragedy, victory, scandal and joy. She has been our window to city, national and world history: the Challenger shuttle tragedy, the invasion of Iraq, the death of Princess Diana, the near demise of the auto industry and 9/11. She covered Pope John Paul II's visit to Michigan in 1987 and South African President Nelson Mandela's visit in 1990. She covered both of President Barack Obama’s inaugurations.

► Rochelle Riley: Carmen Harlan's new title? Ambassador

No matter the traumas that befell the city, from population loss to the deaths of children to the burglary of her own home, she has walked residents through the events that have defined Detroit.

And she never left.

But now, at 62, Carmen Harlan is retiring. Some people retire and leave a career. She will leave a hole in the fabric of this city. After 38 years at WDIV, most of those as its star, she will do her last newscast on Nov. 11. And she said she sees those nearly four decades as a gift.

“Journalism will reward you when you are willing to work hard,” she said, “and the audience was probably the greatest gift because the more I was willing to give, the more they were willing to give back. They’ve given me so much over the past 40 years. ... That has been the real gift.

“I pretty much spent the last 40 years working hard, and it paid off in a wonderful way. And I hope other people will take inspiration from that,” she said. “Dream, but work hard for your dreams because you can reach those goals and give back in really marvelous ways.”

Harlan's greatest gift to Detroit may be her legacy of grace and compassion, said Mayor Mike Duggan.

"I always loved watching her. She told the story of the news through the eyes of a lifetime Detroiter who loved the city, and that’s pretty rare," he said. "I'm not sure that it's possible to replace Carmen. You turn on the news and you knew when she was delivering the bad news, she was doing it in a way that she cared. It didn't feel like it was playing for ratings. And it seemed like it was a joy when she delivered good news."

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Harlan was fated to be the face of Detroit news. She grew up in northwest Detroit, the eldest of three children, and graduated from Mumford High School. She received a bachelor of arts degree in speech with training in radio and television from the University of Michigan. Her first job was as a newscaster for W4 News on WWWW-FM, the station that also gave the world Howard Stern. The future journalist spent her entire life watching events, growing up with a journalist's eye.

“I think I was just destined to be a reporter from an early age,” Harlan said in an interview. “I would find out things about the people in my neighborhood, not that I could write a story about it or anything. It was just curiosity. But one thing led to another. And being a history buff certainly fed into that.”

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But Harlan admits that talent met historical opportunity. The young woman who marched with her parents as a second-grader in the June 1963 Detroit Walk to Freedom said her opportunity came with the Federal Communications Commission’s late 1970s push for diversity on air.

“It was a time when the FCC had asked stations like Detroit and others around the country to reflect the communities they were serving,” she said. “Up until the early '70s, most of the anchors were white men, and they realized they were not the only people who watch television. So the timing was right."

Harlan began her career in radio, but joined WDIV in 1978 as a reporter. Soon, she was promoted to the anchor desk, and shared half her tenure with the popular Mort Crim. Twenty years ago, she got a new partner, an Oklahoma City anchor who had been working with a legendary partner, Linda Cavanaugh of KFOR-TV.

“The first time we really spent any time together was in San Antonio, Texas,” said Devin Scillian, her co-anchor for the past two decades. “I flew in from Oklahoma City, where I was working, to meet her, and they wanted us to do a little bit of a newscast together to see how we would do. I only knew that this woman was already a legend in Detroit … and I realized a couple of things very quickly: She’s very unflappable. She’s extremely elegant. And she’s a very proud Detroiter. I decided that’s a pretty good thing to hitch my wagon to. …

“I don’t think anybody could have told me then that that was the start of 20 years of working together. That stuff doesn’t happen much in TV; 20 years is an extraordinary TV marriage and it has been a wonderful, wonderful journey.”

Scillian said that, as a transplant, he counted on Harlan to show him the ropes.

“It’s been a wonderful thing for me every step of the way to have a real tried-and-true Detroiter with a Detroiter’s sensitivity sitting next to me all the time, because I’m not a Detroiter. It was a great gift. It has been terrific having her next to me.”

Harlan said she had countless moments she will take with her when she leaves. But one that stays with her is carrying the Olympic torch leading up to the 1996 Summer Games.

“Being a torch bearer may not sound like a big deal,” she said, “but it’s not until you have one of those torches in your hand do you understand what it means to be an Olympian. I didn’t play a team sport. I do love sports, and I’ve gotten to be much more of a fan as I’ve gotten older. …

“When I was asked to be a torch bearer and the torch came through Detroit … watching my children, especially my son. He was so proud his mother was actually running."

And then she laughs that laugh, that hearty sound deep from her soul that draws you in like a magician.

It might not be evident in the daily rush of TV news and stories that may last 30 to 90 seconds. But Harlan deeply analyzes the things around her, even the memory of that torch bearing.

“You understand the connection between the torch and life? We all run races in our lives,” she said. “Depending on the individual, you learn that you’ve got that spirit that comes through. It’s in all of us, and that’s what you tap into whether you’re an athlete or a reporter, whatever your chosen profession. I think that spirit is very much alive and has been.”

It’s the same spirit, she said, that she’s seeing in her hometown.

“For me to see this city come back in ways that we'd only dreamed about 25 years ago to see it finally happening," she stops and breathes deeply. "Detroit has its own race to run. So it’s not over yet. It’s really just beginning. You can see it poised to move in a way that is long overdue, and I’m thrilled to be able to say I’ve been a part of it all this time.”

Even her competitors were thrilled for her Thursday.

"I'm so happy for her. For so many years, she has given so much of herself to the city of Detroit," said Diana Lewis, who retired four years ago after 44 years on television, including the last 34 as co-anchor of the WXYZ-TV evening news. Carmen "is loved and respected, and now it's time to join the ranks of those who are sitting back and enjoying our grandkids. Over the years, although we worked at opposite stations, we have never been rivals. We have always been friends. She has shown me the utmost respect and love and I have shown her. We really liked each other. I love that smile."

There have been many highlights throughout Harlan’s career, both in coverage and community contributions. But she cited two, and it’s no surprise that both involved children or that her humility concerning both is what endears her to so many fans.

First, she said she was very proud of the "Focus on Family" series that helped find permanent homes for foster children, particularly those with special needs.

And second, she recalled a Detroit priest who had moved out of the country but returned with a group of girls he said just had to meet her.

“He was assigned to a parish in Antigua and decided to bring his girls from their high school to Detroit. And do you know he brought them to Channel 4? And he said, ''There’s a lady on television who’s an anchorwoman, and I think it’s important that you meet her.' I was blown away. I’m serious. That was so special. They serenaded me. I shook each girl’s hand, and we talked a little bit. I don’t think I will ever forget that.”

Harlan said she will miss the news. She’ll be stepping down three days after the presidential election, her 10th in the anchor chair.

“If you had told me the election we’re covering right now would have the story line it has, I would have said, ‘No, no way.’ But guess what? There’s a reason we go through this. So I’m not going to stand in judgment and I’m not going to assume that I have all the answers.”

She also said she’s not done finding a new path.

“I’ve got a lot of living to do, and a lot more learning to do,” she said. “I thank God every day that I’m prepared for whatever the next assignment is. I’ve got a lot to learn about myself in a different way. What do I really enjoy? What am I really looking forward to? Having been defined by your profession makes it easy, but now I have a chance to write a different chapter."

Harlan said that stepping down will give her time to do things she has put off doing around her east Detroit home. And she will continue in an “ambassador” role for WDIV, including hosting “America’s Thanksgiving Parade” after her sign-off date.

But she won’t be around all the time because retiring also means she will have more time with her grandchildren in Cincinnati.

“I’ve got a project that I'm working on now, and it doesn’t have anything to do with television, but first, I’m Grammy,” she said of the role she plays for her three grandsons, Leon, 7, Christien, 4, and Graham, 2. “They’re going to need me. As a matter of fact, the oldest said the last time I was there, 'We always smile when you’re here.' ”

That’s how we should remember Carmen Harlan, every time we hear a news story, every time we celebrate a victory for the city. We can remember that smile and still envision her making her way.

Contact Rochelle Riley: 313-378-5135. Follow her on Twitter @rochelleriley.