6 On The Move: Former Sports Director John Walls Remembers His Time At KOTV

As News On 6 makes the move to the new Griffin Communications Media Center in the Brady Arts District, we look back at our history - 63 years of reporting news to the people of Oklahoma.

Joshua Brakhage, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- We've long ago outgrown our home for the past 60-plus years, and we're looking forward to making the move to the state-of-the-art Griffin Communications Media Center in the Brady District.

Once upon a time, the news and sports departments could fit in the same room.

That's not the case anymore, and it may be for the better, as former Sports Director John Walls remembered.

Special Coverage: 6 On The Move

"This is a great building, an old building. I look out at the set, it looks just the same. I'm sure you all feel the same way," Walls said. "But just being downtown has a different feel to it. I always liked that. Being in a row and comfortable, cozy environment, you were right around everybody. You could see everybody and their family. You could know what they were up to. No secrets. That was good. But I'm sure the new building will be fun, but there are a lot of great memories here."

As stressful as the newsroom can be, it's even more stressful to be stuck outside as the clock ticks down to the start of the Friday Football Show.

"I could not get the back door open. And it was like 10:12, and I had to be on at 10:25. And I'm sweating, because I've been running almost from this helicopter ride, and I can't get the door open," Walls said. "And I'm trying to wiggle it, you know? And I didn't—my card wouldn't work. And everybody's on the phone. No one's looking up. And I'm like, 'Please, oh, please, for the love of God, someone come open this door!'"

John Walls knows the door's always open at our new home, twice as big as the one he remembers.

"I loved it here, because it's cozy. And that might be a nice way to put it, but it really was cozy and it was home," Walls said. "And because it was so small and so cramped, you're right on top of each other, but that really opened up a lot of fun times, a lot of great conversations with Beth and Clayton and Glenda and Terry, and a lot of back-and-forth, so I loved it here. It maybe wasn't the most comfortable place. You might have felt like it was a little bit of a dungeon sometimes, but it was our dungeon. And it was a great dungeon."

Watch Videos From The KOTV Vault