Michael Spencer on Shifting From Sports to News Anchor at CBS4 Denver

Michael Spencer is in a transitional phase.

Next March, Spencer will take over for the retiring Jim Benemann as a news anchor at CBS4 Denver, where he'll co-host the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts with longtimer Karen Leigh. But until then, he remains the station's lead sports personality — a job that he quite frankly adores.

"It's fun," says Spencer, who'll turn 35 in January, of his current gig. "Who doesn't want to go to games for a living? I feel so fortunate about having been to so many big-time games — not just here in Denver, but even before getting here. People buy tickets for these things, and I'm fortunate that I get to go as part of work, so to speak."

Now, however, Spencer has other priorities.

"My wife, Hailey, and I just had our first child on November 6: a baby girl, Stella James Spencer," he says. "That's part of the reason why we're making this move — and I say 'we' because it's a family decision. We love being here. My wife and I got engaged here, we got married here, and we want to be here for a very long time, and we're hoping this move will enable us to do that. Not only do we believe in the station and the leadership and where we're heading, but we love living in this community and are looking forward to becoming an even bigger part of it."
That's fine by Tim Wieland, who served as CBS4 Denver's news director for more than seventeen years before assuming the roles of vice president and general manager in 2021. "In the time Michael's been here as a sports anchor, he's really done work that transcends the sports office," Wieland says. "A lot of his sports reporting has led our newscasts, and he's demonstrated his aptitude as a news journalist as well as a sports anchor."

Moving from sports to news is hardly unprecedented in Denver. Ron Zappolo, a veteran of both CBS4 Denver and 9News, took the leap in 2000, when he helped launch the news operation at Fox31, and Tom Green, now with 9News, made the same journey.

Wieland, in conjunction with current CBS4 Denver news director Kristine Strain, saw in Spencer the ability to bring the relatability he built when covering sports to the news desk. "I wouldn't say that was part of the reason we chose Michael, but I would acknowledge that, depending on the person, sports anchors have an opportunity to demonstrate a little more personality than news anchors do, and for that reason, they may make a deeper connection with the audience," he says. "I think Michael is cut from that cloth. And like Ron and Tom, Michael brings something additional, something special, to the table. Ron is a tremendous interviewer, Tom is a wonderful storyteller and interviewer, and Michael is a terrific interviewer, a true journalist and an excellent field reporter."

Until now, the fields Spencer covered generally had white lines painted on them — and the San Antonio native has been comfortable in such settings since childhood.
"I played football and basketball growing up," he says. "My dad was a high school basketball coach, and I played for him — point guard. But because I'm five-eleven, that didn't go much further than my senior year in high school. I realized I wasn't going to reach the levels I hoped I would, and that's when I got into the broadcast side of things. Sports has always been a passion, an interest of mine, and that was the next best thing."

After graduating from high school circa 2006, Spencer enrolled at the University of Missouri, "where I had the opportunity to work for the football program. I started in equipment and worked my way into the broadcast booth. I produced the broadcast of the football games for Mike Kelly, who's still the voice of the Tigers. It was a fantastic opportunity. I got to go to every single Missouri game while I was there. I went to four different bowl games, and they hit number one in the country in 2009. It allowed me to stay involved in sports."

In 2010, upon earning his degree from Mizzou, "I got my first TV job doing sports at KMID in Midland, Texas," he continues. "I was there for basically a year and a half and then moved up within the company to KAMR in Amarillo, Texas. I was their main sports anchor for two and a half years, and then, in 2014, I moved to WATE in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was there for eighteen months, and then I moved to Denver in June of 2016."

This sequence of events was extremely rapid by local television standards, as Spencer concedes. "It definitely felt a little rushed. My running joke before I got here is that I never stayed through a contract at a TV station. But they were all forward moves — all no-brainers based on the opportunities and what I had a chance to cover. And now I've signed my fourth contract at KCNC, which tells you all you need to know about this station."
On his first day, Spencer covered the Denver Broncos' visit to the White House after their victory in Super Bowl 50, and while the squad hasn't hit such heights since then, he's had a close-up angle on many memorable events, including the Colorado Avalanche's march to the Stanley Cup earlier this year. But, he says, "the thing I'll miss most about the job is not just going to games, but hosting our Monday live show that we do at the ViewHouse, and also a Thursday night show during the football season, and getting to interact with not just our guests, but also the people who come to the shows. I remember there was a family of probably nine people — three generations: Grandma, Grandpa, their kids and their kids' kids — who came to the ViewHouse after our COVID layoff, and it was so cool for me to connect with them. I loved doing that, and I'm sure I'll do more of it, but in a different capacity now."

As news anchor, Spencer will be delivering stories that may have life-and-death consequences, "and I'm looking forward to expanding my role in that regard," he says. "Nobody likes covering tragedies, but I think watching Jim and Karen do it has given me a really good sense of how to handle those things. I'll be prepared for those moments when they come. I hope I've earned the trust of the community through my sports reporting, and I hope they'll give me that same trust when it comes to the bigger issues and more serious matters that arise when you're covering news."

His top personal news interests include "business and finance, and also health — especially mental health. I feel I can bring something in that regard and kind of flex my muscles outside of the sports realm. And I'm also very interested in the community aspect, giving voice to the voiceless and elevating other stories and cultures. That's something we talk about in our newsroom on a daily basis."

When Benemann announced his plans to retire in May, he expected to exit by the end of 2022, but is now sticking around until March — and Wieland stresses, "We're happy to have him as long as we can keep him." Spencer feels the same.
"This gives me more time to study him and learn from him and pick his brain," he says. "We've been talking prior to the announcement, but now we can really talk and get into the nitty-gritty — talk about why he's been so successful and what he's done to separate himself in this market. He's been such a great friend and mentor, so having another couple of months with Jim is a positive for me, as well as the station and our community."

Meanwhile, Spencer has gotten to do some fill-in work as a news anchor, "and it's been awesome. I've had a chance to anchor with Karen and Michelle Griego, and I've enjoyed working with them and our entire staff. It's such a great newsroom operation, so many talented reporters and producers, and for me to get a chance to sit in and feel it has been great. I saw it from the outside while I was in sports, but with sports, you're so in your own world. For me to see all of that was what pushed my decision and made me realize this was something I really wanted to do."

He knows there will be challenges along the way, especially with a new baby at home: "I hope the viewers will forgive me if I have bags under my eyes for the first couple of months."