Though Tracy Barry's last day at KGW-TV, her home for 33 years, has arrived, the veteran journalist hasn't been spending her final week resting on her laurels. She's been co-anchoring evening news broadcasts. On Tuesday, she moderated a live gubernatorial debate between Gov. Kate Brown and Rep. Knute Buehler, sponsored by KGW and The Oregonian/OregonLive.

With characteristic self-deprecating humor, Barry says she doesn't want any elaborate on-air farewells on her last day, Friday, Oct. 12. "I have asked that they keep things low-key," Barry says in a phone interview.

"I can't handle anything too big," Barry says. "I'm pretty emotional." Considering she has spent three decades at KGW, and "I really like everybody I work with," Barry says she thinks she would "just bawl," and adds, "I'm not one of those pretty criers."

Barry, 63, isn't the only one feeling emotional about her departure. Since she posted the news on her Facebook page on Oct. 3, viewers who welcomed Barry into their homes via the TV screen have been sharing shock, best wishes and fond memories.

"For anyone to maintain the position of primary anchor for 33 years at one station isn't only unusual, it's practically unheard of," says Pete Schulberg, the former Portland TV journalist who worked with Barry at KGW from late 1985 to early 1993. "To put up with the management changes and format changes at one station is amazing. That's a credit to her."

Barry politely declines to discuss the details of why she's leaving KGW now. "These kind of decisions are complicated, and it just seemed like the right time," she says. "It's just a really personal thing."

Since the Washington state native first came to Portland on July 4, 1983, worked at KATU-TV for about two years, then moved to KGW in 1985, Barry has had a front-row seat to the dramatic transformation of local TV news.

"I think any newsroom is always in a state of change," says Barry. "The whole industry is changing from what I came in to do 40 years ago." Changes in the industry were "definitely a factor" in her leaving, Barry says. "I mean, I'm pretty old school. I tell stories."

Joe Donlon, who worked with Barry at KGW for 21 years before leaving earlier this year for an anchor job at Chicago's WGN-TV, says there are plenty of reasons why Barry has become a Portland TV institution.

"I've had the good fortune of sitting next to some amazing women in my career," Donlon says by phone from Chicago. "And Tracy is everything you could ask for in a co-anchor. She's smart, funny, spontaneous, loyal, dependable. More than anything, she's competent. It didn't matter what happened while we were on the air. With Tracy next to me, I knew we could handle anything."

Off-camera, Barry was "always the rock," Donlon says. "People went to her for everything, whether it was personal or professional. She always had the answers, and she always knew just what to say."

There's an old saying in TV news, Donlon says. "The camera never blinks. It sees everything. You can't hide, you can't fake it. And Tracy is as genuine as they come. She's a true journalist and a great friend, and that's why she's such a leader in that newsroom."

In addition, Donlon says, "I think Tracy is at her best without a script. It allowed her to show her personality, which is off the charts. Viewers didn't always get to see that, but I got to see it every day. She is wickedly smart, and funny."

"I don't think Tracy's retiring," Donlon says. "I think she's just getting started."

Barry's exit from KGW comes amid a challenging time for legacy media, including TV and local news broadcasts, which are attempting to evolve in a digital age as young viewers shift away from the viewing habits of their elders.

A Pew Research Center report from early this year noted that Americans are relying less on television for their news. As the report says, younger people are less likely than adults ages 50 and older to get news via local TV. The report indicated that 18 percent of adults aged 18-29 got their news from local TV, in contrast to 47 percent of adults aged 50-64.

Tegna, the media company that owns KGW and other stations across the country, has emphasized finding new ways to approach content and reach news consumers, convening "innovation summits" to brainstorm ideas.

In an August interview with TVNewsCheck, Ellen Crooke, vice president of news for Tegna, talked about creating "more exciting, shareable content," noting "the word 'anchor' is really becoming out of date. We like to think of them as influencers. They're smart, quick on their feet, able to have a point of view. They're not just people who sit behind a desk and read a prompter. That day is forever gone."

Other changes are happening at KGW, beyond Barry leaving. DJ Wilson, president and general manager, will retire at the end of the year. Of Barry's departure, Wilson says, "we've had lots of conversations," and "the decision was made, and we respect it."

"Tracy is fantastic," says Wilson. "She is really a stellar broadcaster. I think she's probably among the finest writers that I've ever worked with." Evidence of her bond with viewers, Wilson says, can be seen in the response to Barry's Facebook post.

"There were over 1,700 comments just responding to her announcement," Wilson says, which reflect the special connection viewers feel to journalists who are on television. "You invite them into your home," Wilson says, "there's that familiarity."

On Oct. 15, a new anchor begins work at KGW, to replace Donlon. Dan Haggerty and his wife, investigative reporter Cristin Severance, are coming from the CBS affiliate in Dallas, Texas, to work for KGW.

Wilson says the various moves are "unrelated," adding that "we've been looking for months and months" to find the right anchor to fill the spot Donlon held. "It's very easy to fill the chair," says Wilson, "but it's very difficult to replace Joe Donlon."

Regarding Haggerty, Wilson says, "We really like his style. He's a good communicator, he's a very solid journalist." Some of the other candidates "didn't feel genuine, they didn't feel relatable," Wilson says. "We wanted someone to invest in Portland and raise their family here."

No official on-air start date for Haggerty has been decided, Wilson says. But when he assumes the role of news anchor, "We're going to settle in on him with Laural Porter, and then figure where our needs are." Long term decision-making will be up to her successor, Wilson says.

Though others may sing Barry's praises, she's reluctant to talk about why she's been such a good fit for the Portland market.

"I'd like to think it's my sparkling sense of humor," she jokes. "But it may not be. I do fit in here. I like the people here, and that they're so involved, they're so passionate, they're so opinionated. They're quirky."

Barry grew up in Gig Harbor, Washington, and graduated from Washington State University, so she says, her Northwestern roots may have something to do with it.

Though she had opportunities in other markets at various times, "I've been very happy staying on the West Coast," Barry says. "I love Oregon. I know that sounds hokey, but I love it here."

Over the years, Barry has covered any number of memorable stories, including the arrival of the Rajneeshees in Oregon, the scandal surrounding Tonya Harding and the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the saga of Keiko, the whale whose journey from starring in "Free Willy" to the Oregon Coast Aquarium to controversy over his release back into the wild was international news.

"I knew that whale was going to be a big story, and nobody in the newsroom believed me," Barry says.

Barry was particularly moved, she recalls, by a trip with a group of Oregonians who traveled to New York on the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. "I introduced the Portland Gay Men's Chorus at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. They did a concert, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was a beautiful moment. I felt so proud to be with them. I felt so honored that they wanted me to introduce them."

But Barry has a special affection for the human interest reports she did about ordinary people. "Those are the stories you remember," she says.

As an example, Barry mentions a story about an elderly couple who "baked hundreds of apple pies every year from applies in their orchards, and gave them to the homeless. When I asked him why, he said, during the Depression, he went a week at a time with only a beet in his pocket, and he knew what hunger was."

Though Barry will soon be absent from KGW, her impact remains strong, says Stephanie Stricklen, a former KGW reporter and anchor.

Barry is "a consummate journalist and a great mentor," says Stricklen, who left her position as a KGW morning news anchor in late 2016, to pursue other projects. "I worked with her for 20 years," Stricklen says, "and from day one, she was great to me."

Beyond that, Stricklen says, "She was one of the newsroom champions of quality journalism."

Barry was a "role model," Stricklen adds. "She remembers Portland before everybody moved here. She remembers all the political scandals. She can speak from memory about huge events that people in our newsroom would have to look up on the internet."

"It's really the end of an era," Stricklen says of Barry leaving. "This is a tremendous loss not just for KGW, but for the viewers who got to know her."

Though Barry says she looks forward to having more time to spend with her husband and their two daughters, she admits she's not sure what she'll do next.

Being in the news business is "pretty intense, and it's very fulltime," Barry says. "So, I haven't really had much time to dream."

"I've been in a television newsroom for 41 years of my life," Barry says. "I think I need a minute to be away from here before I can even think about it. I don't even know what the possibilities are."

Barry says it feels "kind of surreal" to think about not going to work. "But I am super-grateful I stayed someplace I loved for 33 years. I'm grateful people paid me to do that. I'm grateful to the public. That's how I'm choosing to leave, with gratitude."

-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com

503-221-8227

@Kristiturnquist