WKRN morning show co-host Neil Orne 'to pursue new goals in life' after 29 years on air

Longtime morning show co-host Neil Orne is leaving WRKN Channel 2 after 29 years. His last day on the air will be Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving.

"When you're 58 and waking up every morning at 1:30 a.m., you have a constant pros and cons list going," Orne said in a phone interview Friday morning with The Tennessean. "And the cons started to outweigh the pros."

Orne said he leaves feeling mostly gratitude.

"To have a front row seat to what's happened in this town for 30 years is pretty amazing," he said.

"The fact that my career here in this building is older than most of my talented coworkers blows me away," he said. "In many ways, each day I sit here at 4 a.m. and roll into the show feels like the very first day, in other ways it feels like forever — especially when I meet a young adult that says my parents used to watch you when I was getting ready for school."

Orne is the sixth-most veteran TV news personality in Nashville currently on air, behind, in descending order, Bob Mueller (43 years at WRKN), Davis Nolan (42 years at WKRN), Lelan Statom (30 years at newsChannel 5), Jennifer Kraus (30 years at NewsChannel 5) and Nick Beres (29 years at NewsChannel 5).

Mueller, who posted news of Orne's departure on Facebook, called his colleague "an accomplished journalist, father to two beautiful daughters and friend to many."

"We shared the airwaves on tough days like the '98 tornado, 9/11, and we were on the golf course together when our pagers sounded alerting us to the murder of (Titans quarterback) Steve McNair," Mueller told The Tennessean.

"His viewers and coworkers will miss Neil and his jokes and smile and leadership."

Orne brought a quick wit and sense of humor to the morning show when he first started appearing with Victoria Hansen in the late 1990s. That sense of humor continues today on air and in many "frenemy" social media posts with current co-host Nikki Burdine .

Orne came to WKRN in 1995 as a weekend weather forecaster and reporter from his home state of Maine, where he was a country radio station morning personality.

"I never expected to last a week in Nashville," ," Orne said in an interview with The Tennessean earlier this year. "I remember shaking so bad before my first time on air that (retired veteran anchor) Anne Holt came to me, put her hand on my shoulder and said, 'You are here for a reason.' I never looked back."

Orne's father, Peter Orne, died in plane crash in 1999, a tragedy the TV personality said was "transformative" in how he viewed his relationship with viewers.

"The way people reacted to that made me fall in love with the people who watched the show," he said. "People really were my support system in a way."

Orne, who had more than eight co-hosts in his tenure at WKRN, anchored the morning show with his then wife, Heather, for about two years in the mid 2000s. They have been Nashville's only husband-wife news team.

Orne said he was concerned about the changes in how local TV stations delivered the news and how local TV news will remain relevant.

"Getting people to sit and watch a produced newscast is being replaced by 20-second clips on phones tailored for one's personal preference and beliefs," he said. "It is a challenge the industry must meet or go the way of rental videos and other businesses that vanished rapidly.

"It's not the same newsroom I was in 30 years ago. I don't think it's a bad thing; it's just not what I fell in love with."

Orne also reflected on how the city has changed in his 29 years on air.

"The city seemed to have a chip on its shoulder as we were viewed as one dimensional. No food scene, few sports, etc. Fast forward three decades and the city swapped out the small-town feel for a bustling southeastern hub that has replaced landmarks and historic spots with some pretty incredible venues, residences and other amenities you'd expect in a place where growth seems like it may slow but never stop," he said.

"My fear is that we lose the very identity that attracted everyone here in the first place. Do not get me wrong here, I love where we are but want to protect that Nashville culture."

Orne said he is not retiring, just looking for new challenges, but he has no solid plans yet.

In the meantime, he has been deeply moved by the outpouring from friends and fans.

"I do get emotional when I'm talking to coworkers or people who've watched for a long time. There's an affection that gets me a little bit choked up about it."

Reach Brad Schmitt at or 615-259-8384.