Iowa anchor Dustin Nolan shouts “Sanitized News” as he stops broadcasting

KWQC anchor Dustin Nolan bid an emotional farewell to his Quad City audience, announcing Friday that he has “chosen to step away from the new industry.” On his way out, he shouted “sanitized news” and declared that it is the responsibility of journalists to “bring people out of their bubbles and comfort zones and make them think about the world we all live in.”

“I have chosen to leave the news industry,” Nolan said. “Before I say goodbye, I just want to say: I hope that each of you who have let me be a part of your mornings knows how important it is that I took this job. [and] how much it means to me that you have trusted me over the years to bring you the news tomorrow morning. I promise I’ve given you everything I have. “I have never tried to be perfect, or what many think a journalist should be, but I have always done my best to be transparent, to tell you the facts, and I have always been myself.”

“I have always believed that we, as a local news station, owe you, the viewers, the best we can do because without you, none of us could do this job,” he added. “I also believe that we as a local news channel need to be more than trends or sanitized news, because it makes people uncomfortable. That’s why the facts are important, and that’s why we do what we do here. We need to get people out of their bubbles and comfort zones and make them think about the world we all live in.”

KWQC is a station based in Davenport, Iowa, reporting news from the Quad Cities, including Davenport, Iowa; Bettendorf, Iowa; Rock Island, Illinois and Molain, Illinois. He has been working at the station since 2022, according to Nolan’s LinkedIn.

Nolan is married to his KWQC co-anchor, Jenna, whom he thanked at his signing: “The hardest part of this job for me is realizing that I won’t be working with Jenna again, because she is not only the best anchor on the news desk, but the greatest co-anchor in life.”