Renowned news anchor Carolyn Long to retire from KCTV5 in 2025
FAIRWAY, Kan. (KCTV) - After almost 30 years on the airwaves in Kansas City, KCTV5 news anchor Carolyn Long will be stepping down next year.
Long announced her retirement from television Tuesday, sharing the news first with her teammates at KCTV5, followed by a message to the people of Kansas City.
“As I approach the next chapter in my life, it is with a bittersweet heart that I announce my retirement from the anchor desk,” Long said. “This is not a decision I make lightly, but it is one I come to with immense gratitude and a deep sense of fulfillment.”
Long ed the KCTV5 team back in 1996 as a general assignment reporter. Just a few short months later she began her journey on the anchor desk, which will culminate next May with one of the longest, most successful tenures in Kansas City broadcast television history.
“I’ve had the honor of working every shift alongside an exceptional team of journalists, producers, technical producers, sales staff, and management,” Long said. “Together, we have weathered many storms, literally and figuratively, and I am eternally grateful for your dedication and unwavering .”
Long’s illustrious career at KCTV5 has seen her report on countless stories that have shaped the Kansas City area over the last quarter century. She’s been a calming, reassuring presence in the face of tragedy, and a vigorous promoter of the many successes of a city she will forever consider home.
One of Long’s very first assignments at KCTV5 was in Russell, Kansas, when hometown hero Sen. Bob Dole officially announced former Congressman Jack Kemp as his running mate for the 1996 Presidential Election. Later that year, Long anchored the news by flashlight from a live truck in the garage of KCTV5 after a surprise ice storm.
Long has been on the anchor desk during some of the biggest breaking news stories in and around the city over the last 25+ years. She’s reported on the unspeakable natural disasters in Greenburg and Linwood, Kansas, and Joplin, Missouri. Most recently, she was on the air for five hours straight following the mass shooting at the Chiefs Championship Rally outside Union Station.
She’s also covered numerous momentous events across Kansas City over the years, including the opening of both the Sprint Center and the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts, as well as the revitalization of the Power and Light District. And, of course, she has been a part of four championship parades, celebrating the Royals World Series title in 2015, and three Chiefs championships in 2020, 2023, and 2024.
“While I will miss the daily adrenaline rush of breaking news, I am confident that the legacy of our work will endure,” Long said. “The stories we have told, the lives we have touched, and the values we have upheld will continue to resonate long after I am gone.”
Long, who is originally from Akron, Ohio and a graduate of Kent State University, has not only been a mainstay on the KCTV5 anchor desk, but a tireless advocate for community organizations across Kansas City. Organizations like Wayside Waifs, War Horses for Veterans, and Bra Couture KC are just a few of the groups she’s shared her time and ion with over the years. If there was an organization doing good for the community, Carolyn wanted to be a part of it.
“Kansas City has long adored Carolyn for the same reasons we do,” said KCTV5 VP/GM Curtis Miles. “She’s incredibly talented, genuine, and cares deeply for this community. We will always be grateful for her time with us and for the difference she has made every day.”
Long isn’t going anywhere soon, however, as she makes her announcement almost a full year before she will step down from the anchor desk. Long plans on continuing her remarkable run at KCTV5 through May 2025.
“There will never be another Carolyn Long,” said KCTV5 news director Josh Morgan. “For all of us who have worked alongside her, we are eternally grateful for that opportunity, and we can’t wait to spend the next year celebrating everything she has meant to this station and to the people of Kansas City.”
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