John Beatty was the kind of journalist every newsroom needs.  

In his nearly 50-year career as a journalist — more than 30 of those years at KGTV/10News — Beatty demonstrated a wide range of expertise as both a broadcast journalist and as a newsroom leader.  

He died Feb. 5 at age 91 at his home in San Diego. 

His wife Pat recalls that the legendary broadcast journalist and war correspondent, Edward R. Murrow, was Beatty’s hero. 

“That’s who he modeled his career after,” she said.

He had copies of all of Murrow’s important work, including Harvest of Shame, his documentary on the plight of agricultural migrant workers and the reporting related to the McCarthy Hearings. 

In his home office hangs a political cartoon of Murrow as Don Quixote slaying the dragon, depicting U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy, who dominated the political climate at that time with sensational but unproven claims of communists in high positions with the government.

Beatty’s first love at 10News were the documentaries he produced and reported on, focusing on topics as current as those in today’s headlines — prison overcrowding and water issues, to name a few. He covered politics locally, anchoring and reporting from Golden Hall on election night, and he was the face of KGTV at national conventions. 

He was also the first broadcaster elected as president to the San Diego Press Club, which includes a long list of who’s who in San Diego journalism history.

“I was not trained as a journalist but learned more from John about good journalism than any college professor could have taught me,” said Ed Quinn, a former general manager and vice-president at KGTV.

Don Achen, a former producer, said he has “fond memories of roaming the city with John and Ed Quinn shooting editorials. John’s sense of humor made for an entertaining experience and his writing style for impactful content.”  

Beatty was a generous mentor to his colleagues, who recall the help and advice he would graciously provide.

“When he invited me to join him as a contributing reporter on his weekly Newsmakers program, my career advanced considerably,” said former reporter and news anchor Adrienne Alpert, who went on to work many years at KABC in Los Angeles. “I learned the art of the long format interview from John. He was a consummate newsman and I am lucky for having known him.”

Former KGTV reporter Steve Fiorina echoed Alpert’s sentiment.

“He was my friend and my mentor, an inspiration to many,” Fiorina said. “An anchorman and editorial writer extraordinaire, he was also a loving husband, father, and grandfather who was devoted to his family, his friends, and to journalistic excellence and integrity.”

Former KGTV reporter and anchor Bree Walker said she too learned much from Beatty during her years at the station.

“John Beatty was singularly the most welcoming human I met upon my first days at KGTV as a fledgling investigative consumer reporter,” Walker said. “His unmitigated encouragement, advice and welcoming handshake turned my trepidations to calm, my enthusiasm to joy.”  

Born in 1933 in Kansas City, Missouri, Beatty joined the Air Force at age 17 where he  embarked on his career in front of a microphone.   He was assigned to the Armed Forces Network, European radio, after he impressed Air Force brass with his quick wit and showmanship emceeing a talent show on a ship transporting recruits to Germany.    

He would serve for five years with AFN, which provided its listeners a wide range of programming entertainment including music, talk and news radio.

Beatty was discharged  1955  and immediately began working at WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kansas. He was something of a jack of all trades, not uncommon in those days. He began on the radio side and then moved to television as an on-air reporter, writer, and he did the commercials as well. 

He moved up quickly to a larger market, joining WDAF, now Fox4 in Kansas City, as an anchorman. It was then that his career took an abrupt change in direction, as he went to work as the press secretary for Republican Sen. James Pearson of Kansas. Next came a position at the all-news radio station, KYW, in Philadelphia. 

Eventually, California would be where he landed. Carl Siskin, a former colleague of Beatty’s at WIBW, had become the news director at KOGO Channel 10 (now KGTV).  Siskin asked Beatty to be the station’s reporter in Sacramento.  For two years he had a political pundit’s paradise, a Sacramento reporting job covering then Gov. Ronald Regan and Willie Brown, the powerhouse politician in the state Legislature.

“Few people have had a broadcast career as rich and varied as John Beatty,” said Lee Swanson, former executive producer at KGTV. “He always held to the highest journalistic standards. I always appreciated that in him, and more than that, always cherish that I can call him my friend.” 

When the bureau was shut down by the station’s owners, they brought him to San Diego as a reporter and anchor.  It was a fortuitous move for Beatty in a couple ways.  He decided he couldn’t leave his girlfriend in Sacramento so he proposed to Patricia, who would become his wife.

Thus began a 53-year marriage and Beatty’s long San Diego career at KGTV.

 “John always had extraordinary grace,” said Janine Nakama, former producer. “Despite the pressure in the newsroom, he always smiled and was calm and collected. I clearly remember his beautiful, deep voice that echoed throughout the newsroom. John always cared deeply for everyone.”  

I loved John,” said former marketing director Judy Vance. “He was such a kind and generous soul. I have fond memories of sitting with him in his office, smoking our cigarettes and joking that we were the last holdouts in the building. We shared stories, debated politics and laughed ourselves silly. I’m so grateful to have known him.”   

Former longtime anchor Hal Clement remembers Beatty as “a class act, a great storyteller, a great help to me and countless other young people breaking into the business. It was a pleasure knowing him and working with him.” 

Beatty is survived by his wife Pat and son Stephen D. Beatty, along with two other sons, Mike and Mark Beatty, from Beatty’s  previous marriage to Mary Jane Glenn. Other survivors are five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. 

A memorial honoring Beatty is being planned with details still to be worked out.