I have discovered a new reason to love Carl Akers this week.
If you're new to Colorado, Carl Akers was 9NEWS. He helped this station get to No. 1 in the 70s. He offered commentaries here for a decade. He was a fan of sweet jackets.
And now, I've come to learn, he also enjoyed mixing it up with angry viewers.
In 1980, a viewer named Robert Naiman wrote, disagreeing with a commentary that argued Christmas lights at Civic Center Park did not violate church and state separation. The reply, from the desk of Carl Akers...
It says:
Dear Mr. Naiman,Channel 4 has an excellent newscast, and no boring, irritating commentators.
You, I assume, have intelligence enough to turn the dial.
Merry Christmas!
Carl AkersThere wasn't Twitter, or email in 1980, but that didn't stop Carl Akers from dropping a savage reply on an angry viewer.
Robert Naiman himself sent me that note.
He'd emailed us, calling Next "crap," so I offered to chat about how to improve this show.
He then sent me the Carl Akers letter and said, "Despite a penchant from dressing like him, you are a much better sport."
I don't know, Robert. I imagine Carl Akers writing that note 37 years ago with a smile on his face.
--Kyle
