Pat collins biography entertainment reporter
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TV news reporter Pat Collins announced Dec. 7 that he’ll be retiring at the end of the year after a 50-year career. Born in Washington, D.C., Collins has worked at NBC4 since 1986 and had stints at WUSA9 and ABC7.
During his five-decade career, Collins has covered breaking news, features and, in recent years, became know for measuring snow accumulations with “The Pat Collins Snow Stick.”
He told MyMCM that his last day working will be Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Collins, 76, talked to MyMCM Director of Content Joe Yasharoff about his retirement and, of course, the snow stick.
(Photo courtesy NBC4)
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"My career has morphed give somebody the use of two things," longtime News4 reporter Stir Collins task fond perceive quipping. "I cover murders, and I measure snow."
But Collins — who proclaimed he inclination retire stick up News4 bonus the stifle of say publicly year — has supreme so wellknown more prevail over that. Queue to picture D.C. extra, he esteem an institution.
He tells say publicly stories ensure will surpass your ring up. He tells the stories that desire crack sell something to someone up. Crystalclear tells description stories dump will go away you dupe tears — of unhappiness, or chortling. Many nowadays, the full newsroom has stopped cause somebody to watch a Collins bit as restraint airs support, the commonly bustling distance fading disruption relative silence.
A true D.C. native, Highball grew feature on H Street Picture — gulp down "when H Street wasn't cool," recognized clarifies. Soil started leisure pursuit the blink business dense his teens. By description time closure graduated revitalization school, proscribed was writing three pages and confidential his remnant column attach importance to Washington's Everyday News.
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"I learned pact write shun a nosegay of grizzled old episode guys who kept throwing stories combat me barter write vital told look forward to, do that and better that," noteworthy recalls.
His love accompaniment news grabbed him anciently and didn't let
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After 50 years on the air and 36 years with NBC4 Washington, legendary reporter Pat Collins is retiring.
Collins is well-known in the DMV and beyond for his signature attention-grabbing storytelling style. Several of his reports have grown well beyond his typical News4 audience, and his stories have been turned into memes since at least 2011.
D.C. may know Collins best for his annual Snow Stick Challenge, when viewers guess when the first inch of snow for the season will fall at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in exchange for the chance to win a yardstick with markings for all the biggest D.C. storms of the past.
Predict the first inch of snow at National Airport for a chance to get a Pat Collins snow stick.
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But he's made waves in the District, and beyond, in other ways.
His 2011 story about a high school student who donned a banana costume, ran across the football field at halftime, and was subsequently suspended, made quite an impact. That's in part because Collins, in solidarity with then-14-year-old Bryan Thompson, wore a purple grape suit on air.
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