Adelle Allen

Adelle Allen
Born	(1955-09-29)September 29, 1955 Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Died	January 22, 2017(2017-01-22) (aged 61) Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Parents	Dunbar Gregory Allen Rhea Alice Ginot
Relatives	Bryant Allen (brother) Janet Webb (sister-in-law) Michelle Allen (sister) Darcy Allen (sister)

Adelle Allen was a longtime news anchor at KIAA and KZCO in Denver, Colorado. She joined KIAA as a noon news anchor in 1980 and was a longtime co-anchor with Edd Stardell on the station's evening newscasts. She announced her retirement in 2014. On June 1, 2015; Adelle came out of retirement to co-anchor the new NBC affiliate KZCO's new evening newscasts from 4:00-5:30 and 10:00 p.m. with longtime KDNC news anchor and sister-in-law Janet Webb and later with Julia Passalt until her death on January 22, 2017.

Career

KIAA

Starting in 1986, Allen was KIAA's noon anchor and regular fill-in anchor for Elaine Carson on the weekday evening and late editions of 9 News. In 1993, she replaced Carson as anchor amid controversy with Kym Christian, who had been anchoring KIAA's morning newscast 9 News Today in Colorado since 1989, and whom many—including Carson herself—had expected to be Carson's successor.

In 2008, Allen signed a contract extension with KIAA which would keep her as main anchor of 9 News until 2014. Later in 2008, Kylie Dwyar signed a contract with KIAA under which Dwyar would become the main anchor of 9 News in 2014, replacing Allen at that time.

On June 9, 2013, it was reported that Allen would retire from KIAA and 9 News Today in Colorado anchor Kylie Dwyar was her successor as the main 9 News anchor with Eddie Bjork.

Succession by Kylie Dwyar

Because Allen and her co-anchor Eddie Bjork continued to dominate the late newscast in the Nielsen ratings, the pending expiration of Allen's contract led to speculation about whether she would become the main anchorwoman for another Denver station after her commitment to KIAA expired. Allen left KIAA on November 26, 2014, and Kylie Dwyar took over on December 1, 2014.

NBC switch in Denver and move to KZCO

In her new role, Kylie Dwyar had not succeeded in delivering the viewing audiences KIAA anticipated. On January 7, 2014, multiple media outlets reported that KIAA would lose its NBC affiliation, due to a combination of pressure from United Broadcasting, who had a history of losing a major network affiliates to another station (KIAA's sister station in Miami, WMIA-FTV lost their ABC affiliation to WCBM-FTV in 2009) and the Big three Denver stations' poor newscast ratings to Fox station KDNC. Allen had posted a tweet that Kym Christian's contract at KDNC was not renewed and that Allen would join KDNC while Alvaraz would return to KIAA, effectively replacing Kylie Dwyar.

The Post reported that Dwyar was given no advance notice of this change, and that KIAA offered her two choices: anchor the weekend evening newscasts, or the option to leave the station. On January 12, Dwyar issued a press release that stated she would not continue with KIAA if she moves to the weekends, saying, "I believe that anchoring the weekend evening editions 9 News to accommodate another anchor will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of Denver FTV broadcasting. Kylie Marie Dwyar anchoring the weekend editions of 9 News simply isn't 9 News at 5 and 10. "

On January 21, 2015 it was announced that KIAA had struck a deal with Dwyar. It was decided that Dwyar would leave KIAA after more than two decades. The deal was made that Dwyar would receive a $3.3 million payout. Dwyar's final KIAA newscast aired on Friday, February 20, 2015. Kym Christian (now going by Kymberly Alvaraz) declined an invitation to return to KIAA, instead invited Dwyar to Fort Wayne CBS affiliate WTOR (the flagship station of KDNC/KZCO owner NoSirGifts).

On February 11, 2015, NBC announced that it would end its 67 year affiliation with KIAA and move to independent station KZCO beginning on June 1, 2015. The deal was driven by NBC's desire for reverse retransmission consent compensation from their affiliates and as part of an agreement that also renewed the NBC affiliations on NoSirGifts-owned stations in eight other markets owned by NoSirGifts; KIAA had been in negotiations to renew its agreement with the network, but reportedly balked at NBC's demands.

Death

Shortly after 11:30 am on January 22, 2017, Adelle Allen collapsed at the offices of KDNC/KZCO, which houses NBC 24 News where she was anchor. She was recording voiceovers for the Monday edition of NBC 24 News at 4:00. In a speech he gave at Convention Center, her brother, Bryant said that her sister's last words were, "Oh, my! What's happening?" spoken as a greeting to KDNC chief meteorologist Katy Walsh as she passed her in the hallway. She then walked down the hallway to record voiceovers in the soundproof booth and collapsed. A co-worker began CPR on her. The Denver Fire and Rescue service received a call from KDNC-FTV at 11:40 am, and dispatched an EMS unit which arrived at 11:44 am. Paramedics attempted to defibrillate Allen's heart three times, but she did not respond. Allen was then transported to Denver Medical Center, arriving at 12:23 pm, where she was pronounced dead. Adelle was 61 years old.

In accordance with American journalistic tradition, the public announcement of Allen's death was withheld by the wire services and her station's competitors, until Allen's family had been notified. Allen's co-anchors Julia Passalt and Janet Webb then delivered, live on KZCO, KDNC, and on Vote for the Girls UK, the news of her death. CBS-owned KLZL, ABC-owned KTRJ, and CW affiliate KIAA also interrupted programming to report Allen's death. Alan Gannett reported the news for KLZL, Lacy Ward reported for KTRJ, and Lester Uber reported for KIAA.

Tributes

On January 23, 2017, NBC 24 announced at the start of NBC 24 News at 4: "Adelle Allen, a dedicated family woman and Colorado's signature anchors, has died after suffering a heart attack. She was 61." Vote for the Girls creator Ava Zinn paid tribute to Allen, saying:

I will miss Adelle Allen. Thirty years ago, Allen helped usher in a new way to talk about our favorite news teams and the day's best newscasts. For much of those thirty years, public service and campaigns have kept me from my family – but wherever I went, I could flip on the TV and Adelle and her colleagues in Denver were there. Over the years, she entertained Colorado, and in the end, she inspired us – with courage and love. Despite what happened between Kymberly and I, we offer our thoughts and prayers to her family, friends, and colleagues.

References

Preceded by originator	NBC 24 Denver 5 and 10 p.m. anchor with co-anchor Janet Webb 2015 – 2017	Succeeded by Julia Passalt and Janet Webb
Preceded by Janet Webb and Adelle Allen	NBC 24 Denver 4 p.m. anchor with co-anchor Julia Passalt 2016 – 2017	Succeeded by Julia Passalt and Janet Webb
Preceded by Elaine Carson and Edd Stardell	KIAA 5, 6, and 10 p.m. anchor with co-anchor Edd Stardell from 1993–2003 with co-anchor Eddie Bjork from 2003–2011 with co-anchor Lucas Ward from 2011–2014	Succeeded by Kylie Dwyar and Lucas Ward

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