Mark Davis Dead At 76

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we're live on the Action new Starcam. We're here
to salute this grand treasure.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
In nineteen eighty nine, Mark moved full time to covering
politics and government in Hartford. The following year, he was
nominated for an Emmy as Best TV Anchor in New
England and received an Emmy for his coverage of the
nineteen ninety gubernatorial election. The next year, two Emmys or
his coverage of the state political battle over the imposition

(00:24):
of an.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Income tax and Good Morning at six AM.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
A decision was made to bring Mark back to the
anchor desk to launch the state's first full length morning.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Newscast Banjurno Senora Zio and the.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
State's first weekend morning news show.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
From the Polish National Home in Hartford, where a huge
victory party is wrapping up.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Then he was called upon to cover major events at
the state capitol after two years on morning shows, and
was appointed Chief Capital and Political Correspondent.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
My time covering politics for News eight is something that
I'll never forget. I even got to go on the
presidential campaign trail when Joe Lieberman ran for vice president.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Before the word came down that major career highlights coming
in two thousand, when Mark got the big scooch.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
When Senator Lieberman left on a jet, became Gors running maker,
and then talked about how he felt.

Speaker 4 (01:16):
Mark Davis at the.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Story covering the campaign trail in a grueling stretch of
long days, late night flights, and very little sleep.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Even at this very late hour, the Liberman's day is
hardly over. After appearances in Maine and New Hampshire, they
moved on to a very late rally in irit Pennsylvania.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
A relationship maintained throughout the years despite Lieberman never making
it to the White House.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
I have to believe that the highlight of your career
in politics was running for Vice president with Al Gore.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
As for someone who was in the White House, President Jimmy.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Carter, President and Missus Carter, thank you very much for
being with us in action.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
As at five point thirty, Mark sat down with a
President and First Lady Rosalind Carter in nineteen eighty eight.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Mister President, thank you very about your penguins.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Mark broke a lot of political stories over the years.
One of the biggest.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
News Channelite has confirmed that Governor John Roland will resign
from office this evening at six o'clock.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
The resignation of Governor John Rowland.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your governor.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
Known for always asking the first question at a press conference,
R Mark has covered every governor dating back to Bill O'Neill.

Speaker 4 (02:27):
The late Mark Davis, who's passed away seventy six years old.
Here's my man, Keith Coonson. I'm un played what he
has to say, and for a very specific reason.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Would be a gaggle of reporters and somebody would always
get the first question. It was always Mark Davis who
got the first question. It was just a sign of
the respect so many politicians had for him and also
the respects so many other reporters had for him.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
Look, I don't know if it was respect as much
as it was major player.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
He was.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
I can't use the word regular, but he'd be on
the case, he won on one show often. Lieberman was
a regular on the case, he won on one show.
He just was. Glenn Beck and Joe Lieberman at one
point had a really wonderful relationship. I always maintained a
very good relationship with Joe Lieberman. They eventually began butting
heads at one time, butt heads right on the air,

(03:21):
and Lieberman tried to rope me into say he'd turn
live on the ear. He turned to me and he goes, hey, Venny,
say something funny, please, because he wanted the tentions to
subside because Glenn was going at him. Yeah, it's just
it was an interesting moment for me to see you're
doing Top forty radio. It's when you kind of knew
I liked.

Speaker 5 (03:40):
This guy, Glenn, Oh, that he really likes Top forty radio.
That I don't all come, I'm gonna stop spending money
the way I am.

Speaker 4 (03:51):
I don't think he's gonna do this much longer because
politics was just calling him. Interestingly, Beck and Mark Davis
would always have good back and forth. I've received emails
in the last couple of years. Ah that Mark Davis
more than that, I guess farther back than that. Oh,
you know he's a liberal this, he's a that look

(04:16):
always a journalist first. I think he got that first
question because he was the most recognized guy in the room.
And I've loved every I loved every exchange that I
had with him. I had covered stories where he I
can't say God heat because I don't think he ever
cared the job was the job was the job, but
when it was controversial, the questions that he asked like

(04:38):
he was asking questions of you know, elected officials that
they didn't really want asked, and probably because Mark Davis
could get away with asking. I learned a lot of
interesting things about interviewing from watching Mark Davis and from
our handful of exchanges in the radio show, and one
time in person I brought up to Keith Coons end

(05:01):
to the equation for a reason. About a month ago,
arrived at WTNH to tape the very popular It's extraordinarily popular.
At the movies segment, the lobby, for lack of a
better word, was reworked. It was a kind of a
staging area, and my man, Keith Coons was coming out. Oh,

(05:23):
I only see on occasion, and we're always happy to
see each other and we tease each other, not all
that different than I do with Gil Simmons. And I said,
what is the legend doing out here? And he got
very somber, very quickly. He goes, nothing, nothing that I
want to be doing. We're taping a segment from Mark Davis.
It's just that's news for you. And what news has

(05:48):
always been should be what we're losing sight of. They
put this package together and they had to sit on
it until the day. I mean imagine that.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Though.

Speaker 4 (05:58):
That's a tough world to inhab but I have and
absolutely when they say that Mark Davis's career began in
nineteen eighty, I remember it. I mean I actually remember
it looking at some of that old action News eight footage.
I mean there's a show that I watched. I would
watch the guy say who ended it with with all

(06:19):
look at the movies, and he's why I went in
there and said, I want to be the movie guy.
Multiple Emmy wins and just it's breaking news. Wanted to
let you all know that former News eight Chief Capital
Correspondent Mark Davis has passed away.