Happy retirement to a real broadcast pro

This being April Fool’s Day, how I wish the subject of this column was only a put-up job with a “just kidding” punchline at the end.

Sadly for all of us, it’s not.

Today marks the final day of one of Las Vegas’ most notable journalism careers, as my friend Paula Francis wraps up three decades at 8NewsNow and heads into retirement.

So much has been written about Francis since she announced her retirement in February. She’s been described as humble, the gold standard for Las Vegas news anchors, the most trusted person in Clark County, an irreplaceable well of knowledge, a hall-of-fame broadcaster, a steady force on the anchor desk who was the same person off-air as she is when the cameras roll, and a fixed North Star in a tumultuous, ever changing media landscape. It’s all true, every word.

I first met Francis after getting hired as a part-time political analyst for 8NewsNow back in 2010. She couldn’t have been nicer to a lifelong print reporter with limited TV experience, learning the entirely new and highly mysterious world of electronic storytelling.

From the start, I learned she was everything a really good journalist should be: naturally curious, a voracious reader, well-traveled, compassionate, intelligent, friendly and professional. She reviewed scripts with an eagle’s eye, always searching for exactly the right word for a given story. I especially admired her calm at all times behind the anchor desk, no matter what happened, including the time I almost walked off the set still attached to the desk-mounted microphone. OK, the multiple times I almost walked off the set still attached to the desk-mounted microphone.

In those early days, sitting beside Francis and her then co-anchor Gary Waddell was like winning a contest in which the prize was a walk-on role on your favorite TV show. Their easy banter and strong rapport made the job more fun and educational.

And Francis always kept me on my toes, with improvisational follow-up questions about politics that always got to the heart of what viewers would want to know.

There really is something to the idea that a camera captures more than a person’s image, that it can also convey a person’s personality and character. Francis’ on-camera warmth and empathy flowed through the lens and into the homes of Las Vegans as surely as the words and pictures that told them the news. When things were tragic or frightening, somehow getting the news from Francis made it a little easier to take. When stories were fun and upbeat, her smile was genuine. Her segments on health care contained literally life-saving information, and people shared their life-and-death stories with the entire valley through her.

It’s not hard to see why political fixers wanted Francis to run for office: She’s got sky-high name recognition, amazing favorable ratings and just the right combination of heart and no-nonsense skepticism that would have made one hell of a public official. But despite a deep interest and understanding of politics, Francis resisted the call. A seat in Congress or Carson City didn’t hold a candle to that seat behind the anchor desk at Channel 8.

Like all media organizations in town, change is more the rule than the exception. But I know I’ll miss talking about the latest political story with Francis in the newsroom, reviewing results live on election night and benefiting from her example of dedicated journalism and service to the community.

How I wish Francis’ retirement was just an April Fool’s prank, and that she’d be at work on Monday just like always. Sadly for all of us, it’s not.

For my friend Paula Francis, I wish nothing but fair winds and following seas, all-new adventures and a happy and well-deserved retirement.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist and co-host of the show “PoliticsNOW,” airing at 5:30 p.m. Sundays on 8NewsNow. Read his blog at SlashPolitics.com, follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.