The saddest thing I've ever seen on TV was a newscast where she was struggling to get through reading a story, just after her return to the air after her first big surgery -- it took minutes, she had to force every word, and she looked so tired, but she got to the end of it, they cut to that guy with the hedgehog hair, and she was gone for the rest of the show.
Man, this is sad. She was an excellent newsperson in this market for many, many years. And she handled her illness with such dignity and grace. She was always grateful for what she had and she never wanted anyone to feel sorry for her. She's going to be remembered for a long time.
I don't watch much TV news these days, but back when I did, Kathi always struck me as a sincerely nice person on air, something that was shown to me as accurate, once, off air.
I am not normally a huge fan of local TV newscasters, but one thing they have in spades is visibility. Kathi Goertzen brought that visibility to her medical issue with outstanding bravery and guts. That alone is worth more to the millions of people who saw her than all the blog comments in the world. She will be remembered.
wow, I went to the KOMO site and the comments were spilling in so fast it made me dizzy. RIP to Kathi Goertzen, she was a real legend in local newscasting, and very brave for making her personal battle public.
Pretty much the last local newsperson I ever watched before giving up on all of the foolishness. And she was SO courageous. This is a sad, sad moment because that damn cancer won. Ugh. RIP, Kathi.
Incredible person and a journalist who actually tried to define news. A very unusual accomplishment in local broadcast news. We all lost an exceptional person today.
I guess this isn't a surprise--there was a sad item less than a week ago in the Times reporting that she had gone back to the hospital and that she couldn't take any more chemotherapy. RIP and best wishes to her family.
I think the screen shot was a good choice. It was a poignant part of the story, that she accepted her current appearance and was all the more lovely for it.
A single person, in a small market, with a big heart and an indomitable spirit. Kathi was a living embodiment of the virtue of grace, dignity and preserverence.
Damn. I was hoping she would beat this. I pretty much quit watching local Seattle news when Kathi left. Ironically I was just behind a car with a "fuck cancer" bumpersticker. RIP
Despite KOMO's outrageously mawkish coverage right now, I think her colleagues can be excused because this must be incredibly difficult for them. She really was that nice and genuine, not a phony. RIP Kathi.
Somewhere in the back of my brain, I was hoping for a Kathi Goertzen vs Jean Enersen cage match, in which Jean would get her ass soundly kicked, due to all the pain and suffering Kathi went through in attempting to beat these brain tumors.
I wasn't officially a fan until I saw that video when it originally aired, showing her courage and grace while facing such a terrible disease... to create visibility for brain cancer by showing the side effects so publicly (when she's clearly feeling self conscious) shows the true colors of her character tremendously. RIP Kathi, you will be missed.
34: It's a tribute video that happened to land on a still you found inappropriate, even though the still shows the face of the woman we're paying tribute to. Grow up.
no, kinison, no, no, no. jean is not a kleptomaniac. that is an urban myth, just like getting a note with your canlis bill asking you not to come back because you didn't spend enough money. there's one born every minute, i guess.
fuck this kathi goertzen bullshit. she's dead, tough on the family. down at fisher plaza they've got a talking head shrine, the dimwits are flocking to "honor" this dishonest shill. next.
I think we can see the important stuff coming through, that Kathi was sincere, real, and just hung on for as long as she could, and did the most with the time she had. No matter your age, your status, your perspective...I believe this is a noble, simple, and courageous thing, and I will never forget the impression that this has made on me.
Blessings to Kathi and her family.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/bess/
I think the screen shot was a good choice. It was a poignant part of the story, that she accepted her current appearance and was all the more lovely for it.
Rest in peace, Kathi.
And fuck cancer.
(@1 You're an ass.)
I'll never get that cage match, I has a sad.
She was on KOMO for as long as since I moved to the PNW.
I remember coming back and liking to watch her after a day at the office.
#29
Would you settle for Mary Nam and Rebecca Stevenson wearing baby doll pajamas and pulling each others hair?
No, Jean Enersen needs to pay for her kleptomaniac problem.